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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 120 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: capital · root · plane · row · track · bound · fan · sharp

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. capital — money
  3. track — a path
  4. root — of a plant
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. sharp — clever
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bound — obliged
  11. root — the cause
  12. root — of a word
  13. plane — a tool
  14. bound — certain
  15. bound — tied together
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. capital — a city
  19. track — a song
  20. row — a line
  21. track — to keep track
  22. row — to paddle
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. fan — to cool the air

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