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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. net — for catching
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. race — the arms race
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. net — in sport
  15. row — a line
  16. fork — in a road
  17. race — humankind
  18. row — to paddle
  19. capital — a city
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. capital — money
  22. race — a contest
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. net — after costs

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