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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: ground · saw · plane · capital · foot · pop · kick · track

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. ground — crushed
  3. capital — a city
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. ground — a position
  6. saw — the tool
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. pop — music
  9. track — a path
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. pop — soda
  12. track — to keep track
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. pop — to visit
  19. kick — in football
  20. ground — the earth
  21. plane — a tool
  22. foot — a measure
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. saw — the tool

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