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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. plane — a tool
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bank — of a river
  5. pop — to visit
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. date — the fruit
  11. capital — a city
  12. cold — an illness
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. capital — money
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. pop — music
  17. pop — soda
  18. bank — for money
  19. fall — to drop
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — the season
  23. bank — for money
  24. plane — in geometry

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