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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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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 · plane · march · wind · chip · chest · safe · cell

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. plane — a tool
  9. chip — to eat
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. march — the month
  12. capital — a city
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. capital — money
  17. chip — for betting
  18. wind — moving air
  19. march — music
  20. cell — a phone
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cell — in biology
  23. chest — a box
  24. march — the month

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