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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 120 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. fork — in a road
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — to trim
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. bank — of a river
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. game — wild animals
  13. rush — hurry
  14. bank — for money
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. capital — money
  19. capital — a city
  20. bank — for money
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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