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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 120 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 is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. swing — to play on
  5. band — a ring
  6. file — a line of people
  7. capital — money
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. season — in sport
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. swing — music
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. file — a tool
  15. season — of the year
  16. plane — a tool
  17. file — a document
  18. capital — a city
  19. band — a music group
  20. lean — to bend
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. swing — in golf

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