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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. hand — help
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. prune — to trim
  7. object — a thing
  8. prune — to trim
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. rock — a stone
  12. capital — money
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. wound — an injury
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. object — an aim
  17. capital — a city
  18. hand — in cards
  19. wound — an injury
  20. rock — music
  21. fork — in a road
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. object — to protest
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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