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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: capital · trunk · land · field · roll · bass · pound · fall

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. roll — a list
  5. capital — a city
  6. fall — the season
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. pound — a weight
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. land — ground
  11. field — a subject
  12. land — a country
  13. fall — to drop
  14. field — farmland
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. land — to come down
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. bass — low music
  20. bass — the fish
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. field — for sport
  23. roll — a cake
  24. capital — money

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