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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: mark · cabinet · foot · fall · bat · capital · board · squash

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. fall — to drop
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. mark — a trace
  6. mark — a grade
  7. capital — a city
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. squash — to crush
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. fall — to drop
  15. board — a committee
  16. board — to get on
  17. foot — a measure
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. bat — the animal
  20. capital — money
  21. squash — the sport
  22. fall — the season
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. foot — the bottom

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