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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. capital — a city
  3. swing — in golf
  4. bound — obliged
  5. cue — a hint
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — child
  8. capital — money
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. swing — to play on
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. last — finally
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. bound — certain
  16. last — final
  17. bound — tied together
  18. cue — a signal
  19. cue — for pool
  20. last — to go on
  21. bark — to shout
  22. swing — music
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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