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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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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: deal · capital · board · fall · chest · mate · mug · cap

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. fall — to drop
  3. deal — to handle
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. fall — the season
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cap — of ice
  8. mate — a friend
  9. cap — a lid
  10. capital — money
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. mate — a partner
  13. board — to get on
  14. mug — a face
  15. chest — a box
  16. mug — a cup
  17. mate — to breed
  18. board — a committee
  19. mug — to rob
  20. fall — to drop
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. chest — of your body
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. chest — of your body

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