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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 120 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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. mate — a partner
  4. cap — a lid
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tube — a container
  7. plane — a tool
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. cap — a hat
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. capital — money
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. mate — to breed
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. cap — of ice
  16. wake — a trail
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. stand — to bear
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. cold — an illness
  22. mate — a friend
  23. capital — a city
  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