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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
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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: plane · pop · field · nail · capital · row · chair · bay

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. row — a line
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. capital — money
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. pop — to visit
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. field — farmland
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. row — to paddle
  14. plane — a tool
  15. pop — music
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — for sport
  18. pop — soda
  19. capital — a city
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. chair — a leader
  24. plane — in geometry

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