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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cap — a lid
  4. file — a tool
  5. pound — a weight
  6. cap — of ice
  7. rash — a series
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. can — to be able to
  10. file — a document
  11. rash — hasty
  12. can — a tin
  13. capital — money
  14. fork — in a road
  15. cap — a hat
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. can — a tin
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. file — a line of people
  22. wind — moving air
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. capital — a city

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