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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. capital — money
  3. fork — in a road
  4. court — of a king
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. mate — to breed
  7. court — for sport
  8. pop — soda
  9. pop — music
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. mate — a friend
  14. mate — a partner
  15. plane — a tool
  16. capital — a city
  17. stock — goods
  18. pop — to visit
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. stock — shares
  21. cell — in biology
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. cell — a phone
  24. court — of law

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