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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: wind · racket · staff · deal · snap · capital · plane · spell

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  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. snap — to speak sharply
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. capital — a city
  6. spell — letters
  7. capital — money
  8. wind — moving air
  9. spell — a short time
  10. plane — a tool
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. staff — employees
  13. staff — a stick
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. staff — employees
  17. snap — to click
  18. spell — magic
  19. deal — to handle
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. wind — moving air
  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