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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  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. leaves — to go away
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. season — of the year
  4. clip — for paper
  5. plane — a tool
  6. bear — the animal
  7. rock — a stone
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. clip — a video
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. fork — in a road
  12. bear — the animal
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. season — in sport
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. clip — to cut
  20. capital — a city
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. rock — music
  23. season — to add flavour
  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