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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: game · capital · fan · plane · jam · mark · prune · land

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. capital — a city
  5. game — wild animals
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. game — a match
  9. capital — money
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. prune — to trim
  13. mark — a grade
  14. land — ground
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. plane — a tool
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. land — to come down
  22. prune — to trim
  23. land — a country
  24. mark — a trace

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