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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. suit — to fit
  4. file — a tool
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. suit — clothes
  9. file — a document
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — the animal
  13. wind — moving air
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. scale — in music
  16. file — a line of people
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. fork — in a road
  20. suit — in cards
  21. scale — size or range
  22. capital — a city
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. capital — money

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