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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 · capital · plane · race · rock · content · bulb · rest

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. fall — to drop
  3. content — happy
  4. fall — the season
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. race — a contest
  9. rock — music
  10. fall — to drop
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. race — humankind
  13. capital — money
  14. content — the amount
  15. capital — a city
  16. bulb — for light
  17. race — the arms race
  18. bulb — for light
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. rest — a break
  23. rock — a stone
  24. plane — a tool

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