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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: rush · stock · pitcher · wound · fall · cabinet · capital · spell

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. rush — hurry
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. fall — the season
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. capital — money
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wound — an injury
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. capital — a city
  16. stock — goods
  17. spell — letters
  18. fall — to drop
  19. spell — a short time
  20. stock — shares
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. wound — an injury
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. spell — magic

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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