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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 120 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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. capital — a city
  4. fall — the season
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. fall — to drop
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. last — to go on
  11. cue — a signal
  12. last — finally
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. stock — shares
  15. cue — a hint
  16. capital — money
  17. fork — in a road
  18. wax — to grow
  19. last — final
  20. dip — to sink
  21. fall — to drop
  22. cue — for pool
  23. stock — goods
  24. fork — to eat with

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