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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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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: clip · leaves · deal · capital · fall · wind · plane · bear

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  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. leaves — to go away
  2. wind — moving air
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. fall — to drop
  6. plane — a tool
  7. bear — the animal
  8. fall — to drop
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. capital — money
  13. deal — to handle
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — a video
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. clip — for paper
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. bear — the animal
  21. fall — the season
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. capital — a city
  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