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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 120 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 · pit · net · capital · track · shower · cabinet · perch

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. pit — a hole
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. shower — rain
  7. net — for catching
  8. perch — the fish
  9. pit — in a race
  10. track — to keep track
  11. track — a path
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. net — after costs
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. track — a song
  23. net — in sport
  24. fall — the season

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