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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: capital · bound · fall · pit · cap · wound · stock · cell

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cap — a lid
  4. bound — certain
  5. fall — to drop
  6. wound — an injury
  7. pit — a hole
  8. cap — a hat
  9. pit — in a race
  10. capital — a city
  11. fall — to drop
  12. capital — money
  13. stock — shares
  14. bound — tied together
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. fall — the season
  17. stock — goods
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bound — obliged
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. cell — in biology
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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