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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: hide · fall · root · lie · spring · capital · track · wind

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. spring — the season
  3. capital — money
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — of water
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. lie — to recline
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. capital — a city
  12. track — a path
  13. wind — moving air
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. fall — to drop
  16. root — of a word
  17. track — to keep track
  18. wind — moving air
  19. track — a song
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. root — of a plant
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — the season
  24. root — the cause

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