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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 124 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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. capital — a city
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. cold — not warm
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. cold — an illness
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. date — the fruit
  16. chip — for betting
  17. capital — money
  18. plane — a tool
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. tube — a container
  23. chip — to eat
  24. wake — a trail

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