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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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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. spring — a coil
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. field — a subject
  5. bank — of a river
  6. spring — of water
  7. cap — of ice
  8. field — farmland
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bank — for money
  11. cap — a hat
  12. degree — temperature
  13. spring — the season
  14. fork — in a road
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. chip — for betting
  17. bank — for money
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. field — for sport
  20. chip — to eat
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. cap — a lid
  24. degree — an amount

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