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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: file · bowl · lie · capital · arm · mark · fall · tear

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — the season
  6. file — a document
  7. lie — to recline
  8. capital — money
  9. fall — to drop
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. mark — a grade
  14. mark — a trace
  15. capital — a city
  16. file — a line of people
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. file — a tool
  20. tear — to rip
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. tear — from crying
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. arm — part of the body

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