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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. scale — size or range
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. capital — a city
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. scale — in music
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. shower — to wash
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — ground
  19. wax — to grow
  20. fork — in a road
  21. shower — rain
  22. capital — money
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. land — a country

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