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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. clip — to cut
  4. wound — an injury
  5. plane — a tool
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. content — the amount
  11. ball — a dance
  12. wound — an injury
  13. ball — a great time
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. clip — for paper
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. content — happy
  18. squash — to crush
  19. capital — money
  20. squash — the sport
  21. clip — a video
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. plane — in geometry
  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