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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 112 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: fork · pound · cell · spring · pop · band · calf · kick

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  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. spring — a coil
  2. kick — in football
  3. band — a ring
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pound — a weight
  6. band — a music group
  7. spring — the season
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pop — soda
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. spring — of water
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. pop — music
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. cell — a phone
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. cell — in biology
  23. band — a rubber band
  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