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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: march · spring · fork · press · perch · leaves · shower · field

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  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. shower — to wash
  2. press — a publisher
  3. shower — rain
  4. march — the month
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. march — the month
  7. field — farmland
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. spring — a coil
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. fork — in a road
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. field — for sport
  17. spring — the season
  18. field — a subject
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. press — newspapers
  21. press — to push
  22. march — music
  23. perch — the fish
  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