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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. file — a document
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. capital — money
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. last — to go on
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fork — in a road
  11. last — finally
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — a city
  14. file — a tool
  15. last — final
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bound — certain
  18. press — to push
  19. bound — tied together
  20. press — newspapers
  21. file — a line of people
  22. press — a publisher
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. fork — to eat 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