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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 124 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 have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bound — certain
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — a city
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. drill — the tool
  9. pound — a weight
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. bound — tied together
  12. cap — a lid
  13. ground — a position
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. bound — obliged
  16. fork — in a road
  17. drill — army training
  18. ground — the earth
  19. cap — of ice
  20. drill — a practice
  21. capital — money
  22. cap — a hat
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. fork — to eat with

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