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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 usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. capital — a city
  3. fork — in a road
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. file — a tool
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. capital — money
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. file — a document
  15. degree — temperature
  16. foot — a measure
  17. snap — to click
  18. file — a line of people
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. rush — hurry
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. degree — an amount
  24. degree — from a university

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