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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  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. capital — a city
  2. mate — a partner
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. mate — to breed
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. plane — a tool
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. shower — rain
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. shower — to wash
  13. mate — a friend
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. chip — for betting
  18. capital — money
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. chip — to eat
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hide — animal skin
  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