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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 116 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  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 — money
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. net — in sport
  4. dip — to sink
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. stand — to bear
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. track — a path
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. plane — a tool
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — after costs
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. track — a song
  22. capital — a city
  23. track — to keep track
  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