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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — to trim
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. march — the month
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. mark — a trace
  8. mark — a grade
  9. mate — a partner
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. fork — in a road
  12. march — the month
  13. shower — rain
  14. shower — to wash
  15. march — music
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. capital — money
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. mate — to breed
  21. mate — a friend
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — a city
  24. fork — a garden tool

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