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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: patient · fork · mine · ground · present · spell · spring · cap

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. spell — magic
  3. mine — for digging
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. spring — of water
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fork — in a road
  11. ground — the earth
  12. ground — crushed
  13. spring — a coil
  14. ground — a position
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. spell — letters
  17. present — a gift
  18. present — there
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. cap — a hat
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spring — the season
  23. present — the time now
  24. 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