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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. firm — decided
  8. shower — to wash
  9. capital — money
  10. fork — in a road
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. cell — a phone
  13. firm — steady
  14. stock — goods
  15. bore — to tire
  16. cell — in biology
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. shower — rain
  19. firm — a company
  20. stock — shares
  21. bore — to drill
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. wound — an injury
  24. capital — a city

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