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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. cue — a hint
  3. fork — in a road
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. lean — thin
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. shower — to wash
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. deal — to handle
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. lean — to bend
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. cue — for pool
  21. cue — a signal
  22. shower — rain
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. capital — money

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