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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. capital — money
  4. wound — an injury
  5. cue — a hint
  6. craft — a skill
  7. press — to push
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cue — for pool
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. fork — in a road
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cue — a signal
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. capital — a city
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. press — a publisher
  23. press — newspapers
  24. craft — boats

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