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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. track — a path
  3. pitch — completely
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. track — a song
  6. season — of the year
  7. mine — for digging
  8. deal — to handle
  9. track — to keep track
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. fork — in a road
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. season — in sport
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. capital — a city
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. season — to add flavour

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