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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. ground — crushed
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fork — in a road
  10. file — a line of people
  11. capital — money
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. ground — the earth
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. file — a tool
  16. capital — a city
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. wake — a trail
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. ball — a dance
  22. ball — a great time
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. file — a document

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