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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. cell — in biology
  5. rock — a stone
  6. rock — music
  7. scale — size or range
  8. cell — a phone
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. tear — from crying
  11. capital — money
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. pitch — completely
  14. stock — goods
  15. tear — from crying
  16. capital — a city
  17. tear — to rip
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. fork — in a road
  21. stock — shares
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. scale — in music
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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