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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: bay · stem · cold · field · perch · mark · spring · fork

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. fork — in a road
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. cold — an illness
  8. spring — a coil
  9. perch — the fish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. mark — a trace
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. field — a subject
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. field — farmland
  16. stem — to come from
  17. mark — a grade
  18. spring — of water
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. field — for sport
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. fork — a garden tool

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