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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. sharp — clever
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. pop — soda
  7. cell — in biology
  8. capital — money
  9. current — happening now
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. pop — music
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. scale — size or range
  16. pop — to visit
  17. current — of water
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. cell — a phone
  21. current — electric
  22. capital — a city
  23. scale — in music
  24. fork — in a road

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