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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. spell — magic
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. capital — money
  6. cap — a lid
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. snap — to click
  9. plane — a tool
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — letters
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cap — of ice
  14. bat — the animal
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. capital — a big letter

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