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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. plane — a tool
  3. capital — a city
  4. mate — a friend
  5. saw — the tool
  6. mate — a partner
  7. spell — a short time
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. rest — what's left
  12. clip — a video
  13. rest — what's left
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. spell — magic
  16. spell — letters
  17. capital — money
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. rest — a break
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. mate — to breed
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — to cut

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