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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: tear · spring · craft · club · fork · degree

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. 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. spring — of water
  2. spring — a coil
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. club — for dancing
  5. tear — from crying
  6. fork — in a road
  7. craft — boats
  8. degree — from a university
  9. craft — a skill
  10. club — a group
  11. tear — from crying
  12. club — for golf
  13. tear — to rip
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. spring — the season
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. degree — an amount
  18. 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