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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: cold · foot · roll · plane · mine · capital · calf · racket

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. roll — a cake
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. capital — money
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. roll — a list
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. cold — an illness
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. foot — a measure
  16. mine — for digging
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. cold — not warm
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. capital — a city
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. calf — of the leg

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