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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 124 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've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  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. spell — a short time
  2. fork — in a road
  3. cue — a signal
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. cue — for pool
  7. swing — to play on
  8. spell — magic
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. swing — in golf
  11. capital — a city
  12. tear — from crying
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. dip — to sink
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. capital — money
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. swing — music
  22. cue — a hint
  23. spell — letters
  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