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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. track — a path
  3. plane — a tool
  4. ball — a dance
  5. capital — money
  6. bat — the animal
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. game — a match
  10. ball — a great time
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. lean — thin
  14. track — to keep track
  15. track — a song
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. game — wild animals
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. lean — to bend
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. rush — hurry
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. bat — in an idiom

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