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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. cue — a signal
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. capital — a city
  5. cue — a hint
  6. land — ground
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. land — to come down
  9. wound — an injury
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. file — a tool
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. wound — an injury
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. capital — money
  19. cue — for pool
  20. land — a country
  21. file — a document
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. fork — in a road

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