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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: spring · fork · row · face · last · fall · mark · capital

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  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. last — finally
  2. row — a line
  3. row — to paddle
  4. face — to confront
  5. capital — money
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. fall — the season
  9. fork — in a road
  10. mark — a trace
  11. face — to point toward
  12. mark — a grade
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. capital — a city
  15. spring — the season
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. fall — to drop
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. spring — a coil
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. last — to go on
  22. last — final
  23. face — part of the head
  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