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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. band — a music group
  4. rash — hasty
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — money
  7. fine — high quality
  8. fork — in a road
  9. rash — a series
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. dip — to sink
  12. band — a ring
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. capital — a city
  16. bear — the animal
  17. fine — all right
  18. bear — the animal
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. file — a tool
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a line of people

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