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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. staff — employees
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. capital — money
  5. staff — a stick
  6. scale — in music
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. file — a line of people
  9. scale — size or range
  10. file — a tool
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. track — a song
  13. track — a path
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. fork — in a road
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. track — to keep track
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. staff — employees
  21. season — in sport
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. season — of the year
  24. file — a document

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