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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's very handy with a ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. saw — the tool
  3. content — the amount
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fall — to drop
  6. plane — a tool
  7. degree — an amount
  8. content — happy
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — temperature
  17. capital — a city
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. fall — the season
  20. fall — to drop
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. capital — money

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