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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. bulb — for light
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. scale — in music
  5. rule — a law
  6. chair — a leader
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — rain
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. rule — government
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. fork — in a road
  14. scale — size or range
  15. capital — a city
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. bulb — for light
  18. pit — a hole
  19. pit — in a race
  20. capital — money
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. capital — a big letter

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