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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  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. track — to keep track
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. land — a country
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. capital — a city
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. lean — to bend
  8. lie — to recline
  9. lean — thin
  10. land — ground
  11. cell — a phone
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. cell — in biology
  17. pound — a weight
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. track — a song
  21. track — a path
  22. land — to come down
  23. capital — money
  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