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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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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 · capital · bound · bank · cabinet · wind · lean · rule

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  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. cabinet — ministers
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. bound — certain
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. fall — to drop
  7. rule — a law
  8. bank — of a river
  9. capital — money
  10. fall — to drop
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. bank — for money
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. capital — a city
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bank — for money
  18. rule — government
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. lean — thin
  21. bound — tied together
  22. wind — moving air
  23. lean — to bend
  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