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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: bank · craft · spell · present · cold · fork · pitch · cap

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. cap — of ice
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. cap — a lid
  5. bank — for money
  6. present — the time now
  7. craft — boats
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fork — in a road
  10. spell — a short time
  11. bank — of a river
  12. cold — an illness
  13. spell — letters
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. cap — a hat
  17. bank — for money
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. spell — magic
  20. present — a gift
  21. craft — a skill
  22. cold — not warm
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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