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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: track · spring · perch · fork · capital · saw · roll · pop

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. roll — a cake
  3. track — a path
  4. pop — to visit
  5. capital — a city
  6. spring — of water
  7. fork — in a road
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. spring — the season
  10. capital — money
  11. track — to keep track
  12. saw — the tool
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. roll — a list
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. saw — the tool
  18. pop — music
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. track — a song
  23. perch — the fish
  24. pop — soda

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