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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. fork — in a road
  5. capital — a city
  6. tear — from crying
  7. key — the most important part
  8. suit — to fit
  9. suit — clothes
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. land — a country
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. key — for a lock
  15. suit — in cards
  16. key — in music
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — ground
  19. pop — soda
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — in cards
  22. pop — to visit
  23. pop — music
  24. capital — money

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