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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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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 · leaves · cabinet · capital · straw · chip · clip · present

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — to drop
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. present — there
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. present — the time now
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. clip — a video
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. capital — a city
  12. capital — money
  13. clip — for paper
  14. present — a gift
  15. clip — to cut
  16. chip — for betting
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. chip — to eat
  21. fall — the season
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. leaves — of a tree

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