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

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. net — for catching
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. game — wild animals
  6. march — music
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. plane — a tool
  9. capital — money
  10. net — in sport
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. wake — a trail
  14. capital — a city
  15. net — after costs
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. drill — the tool
  19. stand — to bear
  20. drill — a practice
  21. drill — army training
  22. game — a match
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. stand — on your feet

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