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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — money
  4. chest — of your body
  5. court — of a king
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. scale — size or range
  9. plane — a tool
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. lean — to bend
  14. chest — of your body
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. court — of law
  17. net — after costs
  18. net — for catching
  19. chest — a box
  20. lean — thin
  21. bat — the animal
  22. scale — in music
  23. court — for sport
  24. net — in sport

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