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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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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: fork · march · mouse · capital · plane · wind

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. plane — a tool
  3. capital — a city
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. wind — moving air
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. march — music
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. march — the month
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. march — the month
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. fork — in a road
  18. wind — moving air

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