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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: scale · stem · spring · fork · craft · coach · root · hand

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. spring — a coil
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — in cards
  9. spring — of water
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. craft — boats
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. scale — size or range
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. root — of a plant
  18. root — the cause
  19. stem — to come from
  20. spring — the season
  21. scale — in music
  22. root — of a word
  23. craft — a skill
  24. fork — in a road

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