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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: last · capital · field · fan · net · plane · sharp · trunk

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — for catching
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. sharp — clever
  5. capital — money
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. field — farmland
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. last — final
  10. field — for sport
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — finally
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. plane — a tool
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. capital — a city
  22. net — in sport
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. field — a subject

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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