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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 · stand · kid · bank · spring · root · degree · mark

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  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. spring — of water
  2. kid — to tease
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — from a university
  6. mark — a trace
  7. spring — a coil
  8. bank — for money
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. kid — child
  11. spring — the season
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. bank — for money
  14. mark — a grade
  15. root — of a plant
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. bank — of a river
  19. root — of a word
  20. root — the cause
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. stand — to bear
  23. mark — to pay attention
  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