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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. land — a country
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. saw — the tool
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. land — ground
  8. fork — in a road
  9. file — a tool
  10. capital — a city
  11. file — a document
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bound — obliged
  15. wound — an injury
  16. charge — electricity
  17. bound — tied together
  18. charge — in control
  19. wound — an injury
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bound — certain
  22. charge — a price
  23. saw — the tool
  24. land — to come down

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