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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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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 · swing · lean · drill · content · fall · wave · stick

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. swing — in golf
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. drill — a practice
  8. fall — to drop
  9. drill — the tool
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. lean — thin
  12. swing — music
  13. swing — to play on
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. drill — army training
  18. content — the amount
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — happy
  21. lean — to bend
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. fall — the season

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