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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. spell — a short time
  3. spring — of water
  4. cell — in biology
  5. net — in sport
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. spell — magic
  9. capital — money
  10. cell — a phone
  11. fork — in a road
  12. capital — a city
  13. net — for catching
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. spring — a coil
  16. chair — a leader
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. mark — a grade
  19. spring — the season
  20. net — after costs
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. spell — letters
  23. mark — a trace
  24. capital — a big letter

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