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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: bear · capital · cap · fork · plane · wind

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. fork — in a road
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. cap — a hat
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. plane — a tool
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. bear — the animal
  12. capital — a city
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. cap — a lid
  16. capital — money
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — to put up with

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