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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: bank · fall · mate · object · capital · saw · nail · pop

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mate — to breed
  3. saw — the tool
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a city
  6. mate — a partner
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bank — of a river
  9. pop — music
  10. saw — the tool
  11. fall — to drop
  12. pop — soda
  13. fall — the season
  14. bank — for money
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. object — a thing
  17. object — to protest
  18. pop — to visit
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. bank — for money
  21. object — an aim
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. fall — to drop

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