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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.

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: lean · hide · fall · capital · leaves · hand · race · nail

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. fall — to drop
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. race — a contest
  6. hand — help
  7. capital — a city
  8. hand — in cards
  9. race — humankind
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. race — the arms race
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. capital — money
  15. lean — to bend
  16. fall — to drop
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. lean — thin
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. fall — the season
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. nail — for a hammer

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