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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: present · chair · pit · fork · capital · fall

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. chair — a leader
  4. fall — the season
  5. present — a gift
  6. pit — a hole
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fork — in a road
  10. fall — to drop
  11. capital — money
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. capital — a city
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. present — the time now
  18. chair — a professorship

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