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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  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. can — a tin
  2. capital — a city
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. can — to be able to
  5. bat — the animal
  6. plane — a tool
  7. rule — a law
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. can — a tin
  10. capital — money
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. rash — hasty
  16. wound — an injury
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. rule — government
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. rash — a series
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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