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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: row · tube · spring · fork · stock · cap

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. stock — goods
  4. spring — of water
  5. tube — a container
  6. fork — in a road
  7. cap — a lid
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. spring — the season
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. cap — a hat
  13. stock — shares
  14. row — to paddle
  15. spring — a coil
  16. tube — the underground
  17. row — a line
  18. cap — of ice

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