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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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468
Word bank
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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. capital — a city
  4. present — the time now
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. clip — to cut
  7. cell — in biology
  8. present — a gift
  9. root — of a word
  10. root — of a plant
  11. present — there
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. bore — to drill
  16. clip — for paper
  17. fork — in a road
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — a phone
  21. bore — to tire
  22. clip — a video
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. root — the cause

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