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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. race — a contest
  3. capital — a city
  4. branch — a division
  5. root — the cause
  6. capital — money
  7. net — for catching
  8. net — after costs
  9. bark — to shout
  10. race — the arms race
  11. fork — in a road
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. race — humankind
  15. net — in sport
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. root — of a word
  21. root — of a plant
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. vault — a safe
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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