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

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — a city
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bass — low music
  6. row — to paddle
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. capital — money
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. roll — a cake
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. row — a line
  18. roll — a list
  19. dip — to sink
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — the fruit
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. fork — in a road
  24. pitcher — a jug

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