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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 116 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. capital — money
  3. march — the month
  4. capital — a city
  5. ball — a dance
  6. bat — the animal
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. ball — a great time
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. perch — the fish
  18. band — a music group
  19. band — a ring
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. plane — a tool
  24. nail — for a hammer

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