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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. pit — in a race
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. plane — a tool
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. file — a line of people
  13. saw — the tool
  14. capital — money
  15. saw — the tool
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. capital — a city
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — for digging
  21. file — a document
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. file — a tool
  24. calf — a young animal

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