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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. drill — army training
  3. fork — in a road
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. drill — a practice
  9. present — a gift
  10. field — for sport
  11. key — in music
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. present — the time now
  14. key — the most important part
  15. capital — money
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. field — a subject
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. field — farmland
  21. present — there
  22. drill — the tool
  23. snap — to click
  24. key — for a lock

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