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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 116 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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. track — a path
  3. drill — army training
  4. capital — a city
  5. charge — a price
  6. net — in sport
  7. net — for catching
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. charge — electricity
  10. net — after costs
  11. kid — to tease
  12. drill — the tool
  13. capital — money
  14. bark — to shout
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. drill — a practice
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. charge — in control
  21. fork — in a road
  22. kid — child
  23. track — to keep track
  24. track — a song

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