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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · ground · stick · plane · capital · cap

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. cap — of ice
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. capital — a city
  5. plane — a tool
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. chest — of your body
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. chest — a box
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. capital — money
  14. cap — a hat
  15. ground — crushed
  16. chest — of your body
  17. cap — a lid
  18. ground — the earth

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