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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. last — to go on
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. last — finally
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. mark — a grade
  7. court — for sport
  8. fork — in a road
  9. spell — magic
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. capital — money
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. spell — a short time
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. mark — a trace
  16. court — of a king
  17. capital — a city
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. spell — letters
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. court — of law
  23. bore — to drill
  24. last — final

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