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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: fine · stem · sharp · cap · wound · fork · spell · net

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  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. fine — high quality
  2. stem — to come from
  3. wound — an injury
  4. spell — a short time
  5. cap — a hat
  6. spell — letters
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. net — in sport
  10. sharp — clever
  11. spell — magic
  12. net — after costs
  13. cap — of ice
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. wound — an injury
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. cap — a lid
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. net — for catching
  21. fine — all right
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. fine — a penalty
  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