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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. plane — a tool
  3. ground — crushed
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. chip — for betting
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. fall — to drop
  11. capital — a city
  12. ground — the earth
  13. fall — to drop
  14. ground — a position
  15. wax — to grow
  16. game — wild animals
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. stand — to bear
  19. capital — money
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chip — to eat
  24. fall — the season

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