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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  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. ground — the earth
  2. fall — the season
  3. capital — a city
  4. ground — a position
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. fork — in a road
  7. scale — size or range
  8. present — a gift
  9. scale — in music
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. date — the fruit
  14. ground — crushed
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. present — the time now
  17. fall — to drop
  18. present — there
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. fall — to drop
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. capital — a big letter
  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