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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. perch — the fish
  3. cell — in biology
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. lean — thin
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. ball — a dance
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. game — a match
  12. fall — to drop
  13. game — wild animals
  14. capital — a city
  15. lean — to bend
  16. plane — a tool
  17. cell — a phone
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. fall — to drop
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. ball — a great time
  23. capital — money
  24. perch — for a bird

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