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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. face — to confront
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. capital — money
  6. pop — music
  7. kid — to tease
  8. capital — a city
  9. kid — child
  10. tear — from crying
  11. face — to point toward
  12. pop — soda
  13. tear — to rip
  14. pop — to visit
  15. deal — to handle
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. face — part of the head
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. land — ground
  21. tear — from crying
  22. land — to come down
  23. land — a country
  24. deal — a big deal

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