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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. cap — a lid
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. rock — music
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — money
  10. cap — a hat
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. rock — a stone
  13. fork — in a road
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. cap — of ice

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