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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: coach · jam · court · capital · wind · lie · pass · fall

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. lie — to recline
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. court — of law
  5. capital — a city
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. fall — the season
  9. pass — a permit
  10. wind — moving air
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. court — of a king
  18. court — for sport
  19. fall — to drop
  20. wind — moving air
  21. capital — money
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. pass — to spend time

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