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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. date — the fruit
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. capital — money
  7. bat — the animal
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. hand — in cards
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. capital — a city
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. tube — a container
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. pound — a weight
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. hand — help
  22. tube — the underground
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. plane — a tool

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