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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: wound · kid · cap · temple · spell · fork · board · season

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. cap — a hat
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. spell — letters
  5. cap — a lid
  6. wound — an injury
  7. kid — to tease
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. season — in sport
  10. board — to get on
  11. spell — a short time
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. board — a committee
  14. spell — magic
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. cap — of ice
  19. season — of the year
  20. wound — an injury
  21. fork — in a road
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. kid — child

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