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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 116 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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. rule — a law
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. field — farmland
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. plane — a tool
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. capital — a city
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. firm — decided
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. capital — money
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. field — a subject
  18. firm — steady
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — the animal
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. field — for sport
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. rule — government

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