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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 116 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 usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. spring — the season
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. fork — in a road
  7. spring — of water
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. capital — a city
  10. march — the month
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. pass — a permit
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. spring — a coil
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. capital — money
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. march — the month
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. cold — not warm
  22. stand — to bear
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. march — music

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