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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  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. wind — moving air
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. field — for sport
  4. capital — money
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. field — farmland
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. capital — a city
  9. last — finally
  10. field — a subject
  11. rock — music
  12. drill — a practice
  13. wind — moving air
  14. drill — army training
  15. last — to go on
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. plane — a tool
  18. bass — the fish
  19. last — final
  20. rock — a stone
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. bass — low music
  23. drill — the tool
  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