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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. bass — low music
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. firm — a company
  6. shower — to wash
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bore — to tire
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. sharp — clever
  13. plane — a tool
  14. firm — steady
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. firm — decided
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. capital — a city
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. bass — the fish
  24. capital — money

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