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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. track — to keep track
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. capital — money
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — to wash
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. court — of law
  11. plane — a tool
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — a city
  14. fine — all right
  15. track — a path
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. shower — rain
  19. court — of a king
  20. track — a song
  21. court — for sport
  22. fine — high quality
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. pitcher — a jug

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