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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: spring · coach · fork · pitcher · ball · root · land · fan

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. root — of a plant
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. root — the cause
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. spring — a coil
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. ball — a great time
  13. ball — a dance
  14. spring — the season
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. spring — of water
  17. land — a country
  18. land — ground
  19. fork — in a road
  20. root — of a word
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. land — to come down

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