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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: pop · lie · fork · season · mug · capital · fall · last

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. season — of the year
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. last — to go on
  6. mug — to rob
  7. fall — the season
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fall — to drop
  10. lie — to recline
  11. pop — soda
  12. pop — music
  13. fall — to drop
  14. last — final
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. mug — a face
  17. season — in sport
  18. mug — a cup
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. capital — money
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. pop — to visit
  24. last — finally

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