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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. fork — in a road
  4. kid — to tease
  5. file — a document
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. bass — low music
  9. pound — a weight
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. bass — the fish
  12. pit — in a race
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. file — a tool
  16. capital — a city
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. kid — child
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. capital — money
  22. file — a line of people
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. pound — to hit hard

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