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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. swing — in golf
  3. fork — in a road
  4. bear — the animal
  5. drill — army training
  6. swing — to play on
  7. capital — a city
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. drill — the tool
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. track — a song
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. swing — music
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. track — a path
  20. track — to keep track
  21. capital — money
  22. bear — the animal
  23. drill — a practice
  24. bear — to put up with

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