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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: fall · wake · capital · wind · last · cabinet · squash · saw

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. fall — to drop
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. fall — the season
  6. squash — the sport
  7. wake — a trail
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. wind — moving air
  10. capital — a city
  11. wind — moving air
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — money
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. last — final
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. saw — the tool
  19. last — finally
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. saw — the tool
  23. fall — to drop
  24. last — to go on

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