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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. capital — money
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bulb — for light
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. pitch — completely
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. key — for a lock
  12. capital — a city
  13. key — the most important part
  14. bulb — for light
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. lie — to recline
  21. key — in music
  22. deal — to handle
  23. fork — in a road
  24. degree — temperature

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