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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
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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: bulb · wound · degree · court · spring · cue · face · fork

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — an amount
  4. wound — an injury
  5. face — to point toward
  6. cue — a signal
  7. court — of a king
  8. cue — a hint
  9. bulb — for light
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — the season
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. cue — for pool
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. wound — an injury
  17. court — for sport
  18. degree — temperature
  19. court — of law
  20. bulb — for light
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. face — to confront
  23. fork — in a road
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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