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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  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. land — ground
  2. stock — shares
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. swing — music
  6. swing — to play on
  7. stock — goods
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — a country
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a city
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. plane — a tool
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. snap — to click
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. lie — to recline
  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