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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: last · capital · spell · spring · ruler · shower · fork · mate

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. spring — of water
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. last — final
  7. last — to go on
  8. mate — to breed
  9. last — finally
  10. shower — rain
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. mate — a partner
  13. spell — letters
  14. capital — a city
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. spring — a coil
  19. fork — in a road
  20. shower — to wash
  21. spring — the season
  22. spell — a short time
  23. capital — money
  24. spell — magic

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