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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. spring — the season
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. bore — to tire
  5. stem — to come from
  6. court — of a king
  7. fork — in a road
  8. spring — of water
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. court — for sport
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. spring — a coil
  15. court — of law
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. cap — a hat
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cap — a lid
  22. bore — to drill
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. mine — for digging

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