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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: plane · wave · wind · capital · prune · cold · chip · lean

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. capital — a city
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. prune — to trim
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. cold — not warm
  12. plane — a tool
  13. prune — to trim
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. lean — to bend
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cold — an illness
  20. capital — money
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. lean — thin
  24. prune — the fruit

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