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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 ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. fork — in a road
  4. net — in sport
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. wound — an injury
  7. fine — high quality
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. net — after costs
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. clip — for paper
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. capital — money
  15. stem — to come from
  16. clip — to cut
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. clip — a video
  19. wound — an injury
  20. capital — a city
  21. net — for catching
  22. fine — all right
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. fork — a garden tool

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