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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: spring · bear · key · degree · club · fork · chest · stick

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. key — the most important part
  3. spring — the season
  4. key — in music
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. chest — a box
  7. degree — temperature
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. club — for golf
  10. bear — the animal
  11. club — for dancing
  12. chest — of your body
  13. degree — an amount
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. club — a group
  16. fork — in a road
  17. chest — of your body
  18. degree — from a university
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. key — for a lock
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. bear — the animal
  24. spring — of water

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