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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bass — low music
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. stock — shares
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. fall — the season
  12. fork — in a road
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. capital — a city
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. bass — the fish
  20. ball — a dance
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. stock — goods
  24. ball — a great time

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