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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 124 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. capital — money
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — to tease
  11. march — music
  12. mine — for digging
  13. rash — a series
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. march — the month
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. wake — a trail
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. march — the month
  22. plane — a tool
  23. capital — a city
  24. rash — hasty

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