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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.

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: hand · plane · cap · rash · fall · capital · arm · game

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. game — a match
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. capital — a city
  7. fall — to drop
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. cap — a hat
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. rash — a series
  12. fall — to drop
  13. hand — in cards
  14. cap — a lid
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — money
  17. cap — of ice
  18. rash — hasty
  19. plane — a tool
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — help
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. game — wild animals

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