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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 120 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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. rash — hasty
  4. bank — for money
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. capital — money
  8. content — the amount
  9. fork — in a road
  10. bank — of a river
  11. prune — to trim
  12. hand — help
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — happy
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bat — the animal
  18. capital — a city
  19. prune — to trim
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. bank — for money
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. rash — a series

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