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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. fork — in a road
  4. ground — crushed
  5. ground — a position
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. ground — the earth
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. march — music
  10. branch — a division
  11. march — the month
  12. march — the month
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. race — a contest
  15. race — the arms race
  16. capital — money
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. scale — size or range
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. capital — a city
  22. race — humankind
  23. scale — in music
  24. fan — to cool the air

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