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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 drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — ground
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. land — a country
  7. key — for a lock
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — money
  12. key — in music
  13. key — the most important part
  14. band — a music group
  15. band — a ring
  16. root — of a word
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. fork — in a road
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. root — of a plant
  21. root — the cause
  22. perch — the fish
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. fork — to eat with

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