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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. fine — high quality
  4. stand — to bear
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. fork — in a road
  7. pop — soda
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. pop — to visit
  10. bat — the animal
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. chest — a box
  13. fine — all right
  14. chest — of your body
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. capital — a city
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. capital — money
  23. chest — of your body
  24. pop — music

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