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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: degree · squash · hand · coach · spring · fork · arm · current

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. spring — the season
  3. degree — temperature
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — in cards
  6. current — happening now
  7. degree — an amount
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. degree — from a university
  16. current — electric
  17. spring — of water
  18. squash — the sport
  19. spring — a coil
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. current — of water
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. squash — to crush
  24. fork — in a road

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