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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 teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  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. roll — a list
  2. capital — money
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. spring — the season
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. roll — a cake
  10. foot — a measure
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. fork — in a road
  14. spring — a coil
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. capital — a city
  18. spring — of water
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — in cards
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. fork — a garden tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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