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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. last — to go on
  3. net — for catching
  4. file — a line of people
  5. last — finally
  6. last — final
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. net — after costs
  10. net — in sport
  11. file — a document
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — a city
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. face — to point toward
  18. face — to confront
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bound — certain
  21. plane — a tool
  22. file — a tool
  23. bound — obliged
  24. face — part of the head

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