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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: sharp · fan · ball · capital · rest · march · fork · land

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. rest — what's left
  3. ball — a dance
  4. rest — a break
  5. march — the month
  6. ball — a great time
  7. land — to come down
  8. capital — a city
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. march — music
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. land — ground
  18. march — the month
  19. capital — money
  20. rest — what's left
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. land — a country
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. fork — in a road

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