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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: kick · wake · capital · stock · leaves · fall · cold · hand

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — an illness
  3. stock — shares
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. stock — goods
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — in cards
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. cold — not warm
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — money
  16. fall — to drop
  17. capital — a city
  18. kick — in football
  19. wake — a trail
  20. hand — help
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — the season
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. kick — with a leg

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