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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. prune — to trim
  4. capital — a city
  5. fork — in a road
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. staff — a stick
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. staff — employees
  15. cell — in biology
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — in cards
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. hand — help
  22. staff — employees
  23. cell — a phone
  24. capital — a big letter

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