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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fan · perch · fork · dip · bowl · mine · capital · key

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. fork — in a road
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. key — for a lock
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. key — the most important part
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — the fish
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. capital — money
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. mine — for digging
  21. key — in music
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. dip — to sink
  24. capital — a city

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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