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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 came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. court — of law
  3. scale — size or range
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. file — a document
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. capital — money
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. clip — a video
  13. file — a tool
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. file — a line of people
  16. clip — for paper
  17. court — of a king
  18. clip — to cut
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. capital — a city
  21. scale — in music
  22. court — for sport
  23. stem — to come from
  24. leaves — of a tree

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