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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. object — a thing
  3. capital — a city
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fork — in a road
  6. tube — the underground
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. pop — music
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. tube — a container
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. object — to protest
  14. capital — money
  15. march — the month
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. lean — to bend
  20. object — an aim
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. pop — soda
  24. pop — to visit

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