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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. game — wild animals
  4. club — a group
  5. game — a match
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. root — the cause
  9. fork — in a road
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. capital — a city
  12. club — for golf
  13. root — of a plant
  14. snap — to click
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. club — for dancing
  17. capital — money
  18. root — of a word

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