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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: dip · fork · pitcher · mine · cue · spring · staff · capital

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. capital — money
  3. staff — employees
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. cue — for pool
  7. mine — for digging
  8. fork — in a road
  9. cue — a signal
  10. dip — to sink
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. capital — a city
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. spring — of water
  17. staff — a stick
  18. staff — employees
  19. cue — a hint
  20. spring — a coil
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. spring — the season
  24. dip — a sauce

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