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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 · key · roll · bore · rush · pound · spring · capital

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. roll — a cake
  4. pound — a weight
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — a city
  7. bore — to tire
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. roll — a list
  10. key — the most important part
  11. spring — of water
  12. bore — to drill
  13. key — for a lock
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. capital — money
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. fork — in a road
  22. key — in music
  23. spring — the season
  24. spring — a coil

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