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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: stem · spell · cold · fork · bowl · kick

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. fork — in a road
  5. spell — letters
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. spell — magic
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. stem — to come from
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. spell — a short time
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. fork — a garden tool

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