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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 124 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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. capital — a city
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. stock — shares
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. wax — to grow
  10. board — a committee
  11. fine — all right
  12. capital — money
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. board — to get on
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. cold — not warm
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. fine — high quality
  20. stock — goods
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. cold — an illness
  23. fork — in a road
  24. capital — a big letter

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