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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. fork — in a road
  4. wind — moving air
  5. file — a line of people
  6. wind — moving air
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. scale — size or range
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. stock — shares
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — farmland
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a tool
  17. capital — money
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. stock — goods
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. capital — a city

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