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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 116 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
468
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 · swing · chair · rush · tear · lie · nail · plane

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  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. chair — to sit on
  2. swing — to play on
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. lie — to recline
  6. swing — in golf
  7. capital — a city
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. tear — to rip
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. tear — from crying
  15. rush — hurry
  16. chair — a leader
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. plane — a tool
  19. swing — music
  20. tear — from crying
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. capital — money
  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