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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. cold — an illness
  3. stand — to bear
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. cold — not warm
  6. fork — in a road
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. capital — a city
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. snap — to click
  13. dip — to sink
  14. pass — a permit
  15. field — for sport
  16. capital — money
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. field — a subject
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. field — farmland

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