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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: staff · file · capital · land · cell · key · pop · fall

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. fall — the season
  3. pop — music
  4. pop — to visit
  5. land — ground
  6. pop — soda
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. key — the most important part
  9. staff — a stick
  10. land — a country
  11. cell — in biology
  12. staff — employees
  13. land — to come down
  14. file — a tool
  15. cell — a phone
  16. key — in music
  17. file — a line of people
  18. fall — to drop
  19. file — a document
  20. capital — a city
  21. key — for a lock
  22. staff — employees
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. fall — to drop

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