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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  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. spring — the season
  2. fork — in a road
  3. chest — a box
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. bank — for money
  6. degree — temperature
  7. season — of the year
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bank — of a river
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. spring — a coil
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. bank — for money
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. chest — of your body
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — for digging
  18. chest — of your body
  19. season — in sport
  20. degree — from a university
  21. prune — to trim
  22. spring — of water
  23. prune — to trim
  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