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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — finally
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. plane — a tool
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. capital — money
  11. lean — thin
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. last — final
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. row — to paddle
  17. lean — to bend
  18. rush — hurry
  19. wind — moving air
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. row — a line
  24. wind — moving air

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