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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 116 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: rock · fork · spring · rest · chair · shower

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. spring — a coil
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rock — a stone
  5. spring — the season
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. spring — of water
  12. shower — rain
  13. shower — to wash
  14. rest — what's left
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. rest — a break
  17. fork — in a road
  18. rock — to move gently

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