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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: fork · mate · rock · lash · spell · band · court · mine

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. rock — music
  3. court — of law
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. mate — a partner
  7. court — for sport
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. spell — magic
  11. band — a music group
  12. fork — in a road
  13. rock — a stone
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. court — of a king
  17. spell — letters
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mine — for digging
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. mate — a friend
  22. band — a ring
  23. spell — a short time
  24. mate — to breed

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