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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. suit — to fit
  3. capital — a city
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. game — wild animals
  6. fork — in a road
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. suit — in cards
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. charge — a price
  12. suit — clothes
  13. charge — in control
  14. bound — tied together
  15. hand — help
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. game — a match
  18. snap — to click
  19. capital — money
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bound — certain
  22. hand — in cards
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. charge — electricity

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