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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 thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  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. mouse — the animal
  2. capital — a city
  3. fall — the season
  4. fork — in a road
  5. craft — boats
  6. cold — not warm
  7. clip — to cut
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. capital — money
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. craft — a skill
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. cold — an illness
  18. clip — a video
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. clip — for paper
  21. fall — to drop
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. fall — to drop
  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