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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. drill — a practice
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. rush — hurry
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. capital — money
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. mate — a partner
  10. plane — a tool
  11. drill — army training
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. capital — a city
  14. cap — a lid
  15. mate — a friend
  16. shower — to wash
  17. cap — of ice
  18. mate — to breed
  19. cap — a hat
  20. shower — rain
  21. drill — the tool
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. rush — a thrill

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