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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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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: fall · face · mark · degree · pitch · capital · wind · cabinet

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. fall — to drop
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. capital — a city
  5. mark — a grade
  6. degree — an amount
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. face — to confront
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. face — to point toward
  11. fall — the season
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. mark — a trace
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. pitch — completely
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. fall — to drop
  19. degree — from a university
  20. degree — temperature
  21. capital — money
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. wind — moving air
  24. face — part of the head

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