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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 · key · spring · straw · bay · capital · mark · clip

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. mark — a grade
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. fall — to drop
  5. capital — a city
  6. key — the most important part
  7. key — for a lock
  8. spring — the season
  9. mark — a trace
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. clip — a video
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. spring — of water
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. fall — the season
  17. clip — to cut
  18. capital — money
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. clip — for paper
  23. key — in music
  24. straw — dry grass

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