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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 120 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. last — final
  3. prune — to trim
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. last — to go on
  6. wound — an injury
  7. fork — in a road
  8. can — to be able to
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. pound — a weight
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. wound — an injury
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. rash — a series
  17. last — finally
  18. can — a tin
  19. rash — hasty
  20. capital — money
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. can — a tin
  24. prune — to trim

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