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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. pop — to visit
  3. can — a tin
  4. kid — to tease
  5. fall — the season
  6. key — the most important part
  7. file — a document
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. kid — child
  10. fall — to drop
  11. capital — a city
  12. fall — to drop
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. plane — a tool
  15. pop — music
  16. key — in music
  17. can — a tin
  18. capital — money
  19. key — for a lock
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. pop — soda
  23. can — to be able to
  24. plane — an aircraft

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