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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 124 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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. hand — help
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. snap — to click
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. fork — in a road
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a city
  13. chair — a leader
  14. root — of a plant
  15. pitch — completely
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. hand — in cards
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. root — the cause
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. root — of a word

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