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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: dip · craft · chip · row · racket · content · fork · capital

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. content — happy
  3. capital — a city
  4. craft — a skill
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. content — the amount
  7. chip — to eat
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. dip — to sink
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. craft — boats
  16. chip — for betting
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. fork — in a road
  20. capital — money
  21. row — a line
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. row — to paddle
  24. fork — to eat with

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