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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. bound — obliged
  3. plane — a tool
  4. season — in sport
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. toast — bread
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bound — tied together
  9. capital — a city
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a document
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. land — a country
  14. file — a line of people
  15. land — to come down
  16. bound — certain
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. capital — money
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. wound — an injury
  22. land — ground
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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