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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fork · deal · capital · cell · staff · squash

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. capital — a city
  3. squash — the sport
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. staff — employees
  6. capital — money
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. cell — in biology
  9. staff — a stick
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. squash — to crush
  12. deal — to handle
  13. fork — in a road
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. staff — employees
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. cell — a phone

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