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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. rush — hurry
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. deal — to handle
  6. cold — not warm
  7. charge — a price
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. cold — an illness
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. land — to come down
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. pop — soda
  15. land — ground
  16. charge — electricity
  17. pop — music
  18. capital — money
  19. charge — in control
  20. plane — a tool
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. land — a country
  23. capital — a city
  24. cold — the Cold War

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