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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: cabinet · date · stand · present · bowl · mine · capital · lie

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. present — a gift
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. stand — to bear
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. mine — for digging
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. date — the fruit
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — money
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. lie — to recline
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. capital — a city
  22. present — the time now
  23. present — there
  24. bowl — a football final

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