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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. capital — money
  3. chest — of your body
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — to crush
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. present — the time now
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. squash — the sport
  12. pit — in a race
  13. fork — in a road
  14. wind — moving air
  15. chest — of your body
  16. capital — a city
  17. wind — moving air
  18. present — there
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. chest — a box
  21. present — a gift
  22. pit — a hole
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. mine — belonging to me

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