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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. wound — an injury
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. pit — a hole
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. charge — in control
  8. charge — a price
  9. ball — a dance
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — money
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. wound — an injury
  15. charge — electricity
  16. row — to paddle
  17. pit — in a race
  18. ball — a great time
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. prune — to trim

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