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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 · clip · content · mug · pit · trunk · lie

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. clip — for paper
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a city
  7. clip — a video
  8. fall — to drop
  9. mug — to rob
  10. content — the amount
  11. content — happy
  12. fall — the season
  13. lie — to recline
  14. clip — to cut
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. pit — in a race
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. mug — a face
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. mug — a cup
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. pit — a hole
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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