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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — moving air
  3. tube — a container
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. tube — the underground
  7. spell — letters
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a city
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. pitch — completely
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. spell — magic
  19. spell — a short time
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. plane — a tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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