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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. plane — a tool
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. squash — the sport
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. game — a match
  14. game — wild animals
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. bat — the animal
  18. squash — to crush
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a city
  24. fan — a supporter

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