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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — money
  6. spring — the season
  7. capital — a city
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — not warm
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. spring — a coil
  14. suit — to fit
  15. plane — a tool
  16. suit — clothes
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. suit — in cards
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. drill — army training
  21. spring — of water
  22. drill — the tool
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. drill — a practice

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