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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  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. rock — music
  2. capital — a city
  3. plane — a tool
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — money
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. rock — a stone
  9. lean — to bend
  10. degree — temperature
  11. lean — thin
  12. degree — from a university
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. chair — a leader
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. snap — to click
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. degree — an amount
  23. chair — a professorship
  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