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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. wax — to grow
  3. clip — a video
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — to cut
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. key — for a lock
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — an illness
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. key — in music
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. key — the most important part
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. capital — a city
  20. plane — a tool
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. dip — to sink
  24. capital — money

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