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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: cabinet · fall · ground · sharp · capital · foot · trunk · fine

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. fine — all right
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. fall — to drop
  5. ground — the earth
  6. fall — the season
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. capital — a city
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. ground — crushed
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fine — high quality
  19. capital — money
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. ground — a position
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. sharp — clever
  24. foot — part of the body

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