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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: rest · lie · spring · last · cabinet · stand · hand · capital

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. hand — in cards
  4. last — finally
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. spring — the season
  7. spring — of water
  8. hand — help
  9. spring — a coil
  10. rest — what's left
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. rest — a break
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. capital — a city
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. capital — money
  21. last — to go on
  22. stand — to bear
  23. rest — what's left
  24. lie — to recline

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