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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. club — for golf
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. club — a group
  5. drill — army training
  6. fine — all right
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. capital — a city
  9. hand — help
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. fork — in a road
  12. capital — money
  13. saw — the tool
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. hand — in cards
  17. stem — to come from
  18. saw — the tool
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. fine — high quality
  23. drill — the tool
  24. club — for dancing

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