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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: track · bay · fork · capital · rest · cap · ball · spring

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. track — a path
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. track — to keep track
  5. cap — a lid
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. rest — what's left
  11. capital — a city
  12. cap — of ice
  13. spring — a coil
  14. rest — what's left
  15. spring — of water
  16. rest — a break
  17. spring — the season
  18. fork — in a road
  19. ball — a great time
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. cap — a hat
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. ball — a dance
  24. track — a song

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