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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 112 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: fork · pound · cell · spring · pop · band

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. band — a music group
  3. band — a ring
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. spring — a coil
  6. pop — to visit
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. fork — in a road
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. pop — soda
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. cell — a phone
  13. spring — of water
  14. cell — in biology
  15. spring — the season
  16. pound — a weight
  17. pop — music
  18. fork — to eat with

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