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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: suit · rush · fall · wind · trunk · calf · bat · capital

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. capital — money
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. suit — in cards
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. wind — moving air
  8. fall — the season
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — to drop
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. capital — a city
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. rush — hurry
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. suit — clothes
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bat — the animal
  24. suit — to fit

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