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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 116 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: fork · spring · stock · rock · capital · board · face · degree

  1. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. stock — shares
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — temperature
  6. face — part of the head
  7. board — to get on
  8. stock — goods
  9. spring — a coil
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. spring — the season
  14. board — a committee
  15. rock — music
  16. degree — an amount
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. capital — a city
  20. face — to confront
  21. fork — in a road
  22. capital — money
  23. spring — of water
  24. face — to point toward

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