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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. fork — in a road
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. pop — soda
  6. spell — a short time
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. capital — money
  11. pop — to visit
  12. branch — a division
  13. spell — magic
  14. court — of law
  15. court — for sport
  16. capital — a city
  17. snap — to click
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. court — of a king
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. pop — music
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. spell — letters

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