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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 116 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: fall · rest · saw · court · capital · wake · rock · squash

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. squash — the sport
  3. rock — a stone
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. fall — the season
  6. court — of a king
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. capital — a city
  12. rock — music
  13. court — of law
  14. fall — to drop
  15. squash — to crush
  16. rest — what's left
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. rest — a break
  19. wake — a trail
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. saw — the tool
  22. rest — what's left
  23. saw — the tool
  24. court — for sport

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