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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. lean — thin
  4. fork — in a road
  5. tube — the underground
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a city
  8. game — a match
  9. cold — an illness
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. wake — a trail
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. pit — a hole
  14. cold — not warm
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. pit — in a race
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. tube — a container
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. lean — to bend
  24. lean — to rest against

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