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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. clip — for paper
  3. capital — money
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. toast — bread
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. deal — to handle
  12. land — to come down
  13. stand — to bear
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. clip — a video
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. capital — a city
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. cold — an illness
  20. land — ground
  21. cold — not warm
  22. clip — to cut
  23. plane — a tool
  24. land — a country

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