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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. pop — soda
  4. snap — to click
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — to drop
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. capital — money
  11. track — to keep track
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. pop — music
  15. fall — the season
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. capital — a city
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. track — a path
  21. plane — a tool
  22. pop — to visit
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. deal — to handle

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