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

Word bank: cell · plane · pit · capital · march · present

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. pit — a hole
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — a city
  5. march — music
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. present — the time now
  8. march — the month
  9. present — a gift
  10. present — there
  11. cell — a phone
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. capital — money
  14. march — the month
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. cell — in biology
  17. plane — a tool
  18. plane — in geometry

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