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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 120 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: game · fork · wind · capital · bark · cabinet · saw · key

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. saw — the tool
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. game — a match
  8. key — the most important part
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. key — in music
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — to shout
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — money
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. key — for a lock
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. game — wild animals
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. saw — the tool
  22. fork — in a road
  23. capital — a city
  24. game — a kind of play

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