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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. last — finally
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. field — farmland
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. shower — rain
  9. plane — a tool
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. branch — a division
  13. capital — money
  14. field — a subject
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. pit — a hole
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. field — for sport
  20. shower — to wash
  21. last — to go on
  22. last — final
  23. pit — in a race
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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