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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. capital — money
  4. club — a group
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. club — for dancing
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. lean — thin
  11. clip — for paper
  12. capital — a city
  13. clip — a video
  14. fork — in a road
  15. clip — to cut
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. stock — shares
  18. lean — to bend
  19. perch — the fish
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. stock — goods
  23. deal — to handle
  24. club — for golf

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