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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: cap · mate · bore · band · court · squash · stem · fork

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. bore — to tire
  3. cap — of ice
  4. court — of a king
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mate — a friend
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. squash — the sport
  9. bore — to drill
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a ring
  12. cap — a lid
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. fork — in a road
  16. court — for sport
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. court — of law
  20. cap — a hat
  21. stem — to come from
  22. squash — to crush
  23. band — a music group
  24. mate — to breed

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