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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: fan · plane · staff · wake · capital · net · kid · track

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. net — in sport
  3. capital — money
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. staff — a stick
  6. kid — to tease
  7. track — to keep track
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. kid — child
  10. net — after costs
  11. staff — employees
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. wake — a trail
  17. net — for catching
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. plane — a tool
  21. track — a song
  22. capital — a city
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. staff — employees

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