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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 120 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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. pit — in a race
  3. fall — to drop
  4. staff — employees
  5. fine — high quality
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. content — happy
  9. staff — employees
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. game — a match
  12. content — the amount
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. fork — in a road
  16. fall — to drop
  17. capital — money
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. pit — a hole
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. fall — the season
  23. fine — all right
  24. fork — to eat with

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