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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: fork · shower · can · scale · coach · spring · band · wound

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. spring — the season
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. scale — in music
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. can — a tin
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. scale — size or range
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — to wash
  13. wound — an injury
  14. spring — a coil
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. can — to be able to
  17. can — a tin
  18. band — a music group
  19. spring — of water
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. wound — an injury
  24. band — a ring

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