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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: shower · degree · ground · fork · drill · present · bear · season

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. ground — a position
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. season — of the year
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bear — the animal
  7. present — a gift
  8. bear — the animal
  9. degree — temperature
  10. fork — in a road
  11. shower — to wash
  12. present — there
  13. shower — rain
  14. season — in sport
  15. degree — from a university
  16. ground — the earth
  17. drill — army training
  18. present — the time now
  19. ground — crushed
  20. drill — the tool
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. drill — a practice
  24. fork — a garden tool

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