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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: cell · capital · jam · content · arm · fan · fall · drill

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — the season
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. drill — the tool
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. content — happy
  12. cell — in biology
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. drill — army training
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. cell — a phone
  17. fall — to drop
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. capital — money
  21. content — the amount
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. drill — a practice

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