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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. land — ground
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. fall — the season
  7. capital — money
  8. bark — to shout
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. fall — to drop
  12. land — to come down
  13. board — to get on
  14. land — a country
  15. mine — for digging
  16. root — of a word
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. capital — a city
  19. fall — to drop
  20. root — the cause
  21. root — of a plant
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. plane — a tool
  24. mine — an explosive

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