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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: bear · spring · coach · bat · plane · fork · scale · ground

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. plane — a tool
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. spring — of water
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bear — the animal
  13. ground — a position
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — a coil
  16. ground — crushed
  17. fork — in a road
  18. scale — size or range
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. scale — in music
  22. ground — the earth
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bat — for baseball

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