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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 120 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: fork · march · leaves · spell · bank · capital · degree · foot

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. bank — for money
  4. spell — letters
  5. fork — in a road
  6. degree — from a university
  7. spell — magic
  8. capital — a city
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bank — for money
  12. bank — of a river
  13. march — music
  14. degree — an amount
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. degree — temperature
  17. march — the month
  18. capital — money
  19. march — the month
  20. spell — a short time
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. foot — a measure
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. foot — the bottom

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