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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. band — a ring
  5. content — happy
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. stem — to come from
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. deal — to handle
  15. band — a music group
  16. mine — for digging
  17. fork — in a road
  18. content — the amount
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. deal — an agreement

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