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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. staff — a stick
  4. capital — a city
  5. content — happy
  6. fork — in a road
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. staff — employees
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. capital — money
  11. pit — a hole
  12. pit — in a race
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. hand — help
  15. bulb — for light
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. content — the amount
  18. bulb — for light
  19. staff — employees
  20. branch — a division
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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