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

Word bank: cap · club · cell · wind · fan · fork

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — a phone
  4. fork — in a road
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. cap — of ice
  7. club — for golf
  8. cell — in biology
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. club — for dancing
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. wind — moving air
  15. club — a group
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — a hat
  18. wind — moving air

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