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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. fall — to drop
  7. spell — letters
  8. spell — a short time
  9. fall — the season
  10. spell — magic
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. staff — employees
  14. fall — to drop
  15. staff — a stick
  16. wound — an injury
  17. capital — money
  18. wound — an injury
  19. saw — the tool
  20. plane — a tool
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — a city
  23. staff — employees
  24. plane — in geometry

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