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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.

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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: plane · fall · cap · wake · fork · rule · can · sharp

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. rule — government
  3. fall — to drop
  4. cap — of ice
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. can — a tin
  7. wake — a trail
  8. plane — a tool
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fall — the season
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. cap — a lid
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. can — to be able to
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. rule — a law
  20. fork — in a road
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. can — a tin
  23. fall — to drop
  24. sharp — clever

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