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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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468
Word bank
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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 need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. fork — in a road
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. clip — to cut
  10. wind — moving air
  11. march — music
  12. capital — money
  13. march — the month
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. march — the month
  16. wind — moving air
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. clip — for paper
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. clip — a video
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. capital — a city
  24. fan — a supporter

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