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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: hand · stand · lean · fall · capital · mug · land · hide

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. fall — to drop
  3. hand — in cards
  4. capital — money
  5. mug — a cup
  6. mug — a face
  7. hand — help
  8. stand — to bear
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — a country
  11. fall — to drop
  12. mug — to rob
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. lean — thin
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. capital — a city
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. land — ground
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. lean — to bend
  22. fall — the season
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. stand — for spectators

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