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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 116 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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. spring — the season
  3. row — a line
  4. fork — in a road
  5. degree — from a university
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. row — to paddle
  8. object — to protest
  9. drill — army training
  10. swing — in golf
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. swing — music
  14. degree — an amount
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — a practice
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. object — a thing
  19. spring — of water
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. swing — to play on
  22. spring — a coil
  23. object — an aim
  24. degree — temperature

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