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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 116 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: net · capital · land · pop · fork · bat · wax · craft

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. land — ground
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. capital — a city
  5. bat — the animal
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. net — in sport
  8. capital — money
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. pop — to visit
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. craft — a skill
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. land — to come down
  17. pop — music
  18. net — after costs
  19. land — a country
  20. pop — soda
  21. net — for catching
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. craft — boats
  24. wax — to grow

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