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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 120 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: cue · lash · fall · capital · land · lie · cap · hand

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. land — to come down
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. cue — a signal
  5. lie — to recline
  6. cue — a hint
  7. cap — a lid
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. capital — a city
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. cue — for pool
  13. land — ground
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. fall — to drop
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. cap — a hat
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. land — a country
  22. capital — money
  23. hand — in cards
  24. cap — of ice

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