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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. roll — a cake
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. plane — a tool
  9. rash — a series
  10. rash — hasty
  11. capital — money
  12. scale — in music
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. mug — a face
  15. scale — size or range
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. hand — help
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. bat — the animal
  21. mug — to rob
  22. roll — a list
  23. mug — a cup
  24. bat — for baseball

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