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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. sharp — clever
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. scale — size or range
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. fork — in a road
  9. capital — money
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — to trim
  12. capital — a city
  13. scale — in music
  14. row — to paddle
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. net — for catching
  17. row — a line
  18. bore — to tire
  19. net — after costs
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. bore — to drill
  23. net — in sport
  24. fork — a garden tool

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