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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · wound · roll · scale · face · craft · season · cap

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. craft — a skill
  4. craft — boats
  5. roll — a cake
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. wound — an injury
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. cap — a hat
  10. roll — a list
  11. face — part of the head
  12. cap — a lid
  13. fork — in a road
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. face — to confront
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. face — to point toward
  18. scale — size or range
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. wound — an injury
  22. season — of the year
  23. scale — in music
  24. cap — of ice

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