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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. plane — a tool
  6. wound — an injury
  7. root — of a plant
  8. bass — low music
  9. bass — the fish
  10. wound — an injury
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. capital — money
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. toast — bread
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. game — a match
  19. game — wild animals
  20. root — of a word
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. root — the cause
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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