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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. chair — a leader
  3. land — a country
  4. land — ground
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. file — a document
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. file — a tool
  10. land — to come down
  11. plane — a tool
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. file — a line of people
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. shower — to wash
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a city
  21. bark — to shout
  22. shower — rain
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. capital — a big letter

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