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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. capital — a city
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. band — a music group
  8. kid — child
  9. lean — thin
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. lean — to bend
  12. band — a ring
  13. capital — money
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. kid — to tease
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. sharp — clever
  22. plane — a tool
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. sharp — exactly

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