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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 120 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. lean — to bend
  3. bass — low music
  4. plane — a tool
  5. capital — a city
  6. root — of a word
  7. bass — the fish
  8. current — electric
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. lean — thin
  11. current — happening now
  12. land — a country
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. pop — to visit
  15. land — ground
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. pop — music
  20. root — of a plant
  21. root — the cause
  22. capital — money
  23. current — of water
  24. pop — soda

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