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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: plane · cabinet · capital · fall · cold · track · roll · court

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. court — of law
  5. fall — to drop
  6. track — a path
  7. track — a song
  8. roll — a cake
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. cold — an illness
  11. capital — money
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. court — for sport
  16. cold — not warm
  17. track — to keep track
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. roll — a list
  20. fall — to drop
  21. court — of a king
  22. fall — the season
  23. capital — a city
  24. cold — the Cold War

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