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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. row — a line
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. capital — a city
  6. staff — employees
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. branch — a division
  9. pass — a permit
  10. pop — soda
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. staff — a stick
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. pop — music
  15. pop — to visit
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. mine — for digging
  18. fork — in a road
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. row — to paddle

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