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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 116 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. craft — a skill
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — a phone
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. saw — the tool
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. capital — money
  11. fall — the season
  12. rash — hasty
  13. present — a gift
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. present — there
  16. fall — to drop
  17. craft — boats
  18. rash — a series
  19. fork — in a road
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. present — the time now
  23. saw — the tool
  24. cell — in biology

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