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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: date · capital · cap · rock · fork · row · club · pop

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. capital — money
  8. club — for dancing
  9. capital — a city
  10. rock — music
  11. rock — a stone
  12. date — the fruit
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. row — to paddle
  15. cap — of ice
  16. pop — to visit
  17. fork — in a road
  18. cap — a hat
  19. pop — music
  20. cap — a lid
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. row — a line
  23. club — a group
  24. pop — soda

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