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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — after costs
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. pit — in a race
  11. net — for catching
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. degree — temperature
  14. spell — letters
  15. fork — in a road
  16. pit — a hole
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — money
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. degree — an amount
  24. degree — from a university

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