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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 120 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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. ground — a position
  3. capital — a city
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. staff — employees
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. wound — an injury
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. ground — the earth
  12. tear — from crying
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. bulb — for light
  15. ground — crushed
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. capital — money
  21. bulb — for light
  22. staff — a stick
  23. fork — in a road
  24. staff — employees

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