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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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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 · plane · chest · lean · bat · mark · board · fan

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. mark — a trace
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. plane — a tool
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. board — a committee
  12. capital — a city
  13. lean — to bend
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. capital — money
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. lean — thin
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. chest — of your body
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. board — to get on
  22. chest — a box
  23. mark — a grade
  24. mark — to pay attention

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