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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wind — moving air
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fork — in a road
  10. mate — a friend
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. mate — a partner
  14. rule — a law
  15. foot — a measure
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a city
  19. rule — government
  20. mate — to breed
  21. craft — a skill
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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