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

Word bank: cell · fork · pass · capital · content · mine · plane · pit

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. fork — in a road
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. content — happy
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. cell — in biology
  8. pit — a hole
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. capital — a city
  11. cell — a phone
  12. capital — money
  13. pit — in a race
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. pass — a permit
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. content — the amount
  24. plane — a tool

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