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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 120 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. plane — a tool
  3. capital — money
  4. land — to come down
  5. rash — hasty
  6. mark — a grade
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. wind — moving air
  11. land — a country
  12. wind — moving air
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. tube — a container
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. mark — a trace
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. tube — the underground
  21. wound — an injury
  22. land — ground
  23. rash — a series
  24. capital — a big letter

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