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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. fork — in a road
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. capital — money
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. content — happy
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. land — to come down
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — the amount
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. squash — the sport
  18. stand — to bear
  19. squash — to crush
  20. capital — a city
  21. land — a country
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. land — ground
  24. hand — help

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