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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. dip — to sink
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. pass — a permit
  6. roll — a cake
  7. roll — a list
  8. cap — a lid
  9. fork — in a road
  10. cap — a hat
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. hand — in cards
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. capital — money
  16. hand — help
  17. cap — of ice
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. capital — a city
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. plane — an aircraft

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