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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. capital — money
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. lean — to bend
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. capital — a city
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bass — low music
  11. bass — the fish
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. bore — to drill
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. bore — to tire
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. fork — in a road
  20. lean — thin
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. arm — a part of something

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