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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. rule — government
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. row — a line
  5. capital — money
  6. mug — a face
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. perch — the fish
  9. plane — a tool
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. mug — to rob
  12. mug — a cup
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. rule — a law
  16. file — a line of people
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. capital — a city
  20. file — a document
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. row — to paddle
  24. file — a tool

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