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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. current — happening now
  3. board — a committee
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. root — of a word
  6. board — to get on
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — what's left
  10. clip — for paper
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a city
  16. rest — a break
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. root — of a plant
  19. current — of water
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — a video
  22. root — the cause
  23. current — electric
  24. fork — in a road

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