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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: season · pitcher · chair · arm · fork · capital · row · last

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. last — finally
  6. season — in sport
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. capital — a city
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. capital — money
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. row — to paddle
  16. chair — a leader
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. season — of the year
  20. fork — in a road
  21. last — to go on
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. last — final
  24. row — a line

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