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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · capital · fall · mouse · arm · key · ground · rash

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. fall — to drop
  4. ground — the earth
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — a position
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. key — in music
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. rash — hasty
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. rash — a series
  14. fall — to drop
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. key — the most important part
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — an illness
  19. capital — a city
  20. cold — not warm
  21. capital — money
  22. fall — the season
  23. key — for a lock
  24. rash — on the skin

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com