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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. content — the amount
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. lie — to recline
  7. capital — a city
  8. wind — moving air
  9. content — happy
  10. bat — the animal
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. band — a ring
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a music group
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. deal — to handle
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. capital — money
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. plane — a tool
  24. wind — moving air

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