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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: bank · fall · ball · cold · cue · capital · face · roll

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. fall — to drop
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. ball — a dance
  5. cue — a signal
  6. cue — a hint
  7. face — to confront
  8. fall — to drop
  9. capital — money
  10. bank — of a river
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. cue — for pool
  13. roll — a list
  14. face — to point toward
  15. roll — a cake
  16. face — part of the head
  17. capital — a city
  18. fall — the season
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — an illness
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. ball — a great time
  23. bank — for money
  24. bank — for money

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