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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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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 · band · capital · bay · fall · hand · season

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. capital — money
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. fork — in a road
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. march — the month
  8. fall — to drop
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. hand — help
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. season — of the year
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. capital — a city
  16. season — in sport
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. band — a ring
  19. march — music
  20. march — the month
  21. band — a music group
  22. hand — in cards
  23. fall — the season
  24. band — a rubber band

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