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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 usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. swing — music
  3. swing — to play on
  4. shower — to wash
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. shower — rain
  9. pass — a permit
  10. swing — in golf
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — temperature
  14. capital — money
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. capital — a city
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. fork — in a road
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — a division

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