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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. capital — a city
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. wound — an injury
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. bat — the animal
  10. chair — a leader
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. pass — a permit
  13. band — a music group
  14. dip — to sink
  15. wound — an injury
  16. band — a ring
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. fork — in a road
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. dip — to dunk

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