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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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468
Word bank
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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. squash — to crush
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. cell — in biology
  5. capital — a city
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. key — the most important part
  11. land — ground
  12. key — in music
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. key — for a lock
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. land — to come down
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. fork — in a road
  21. capital — money
  22. cell — a phone
  23. land — a country
  24. squash — the sport

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