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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: wake · saw · fork · spring · foot · fine · row · cap

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. cap — of ice
  3. fine — high quality
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. foot — a measure
  7. cap — a hat
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. spring — a coil
  10. fine — all right
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. fork — in a road
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. cap — a lid
  19. saw — the tool
  20. row — a line
  21. row — to paddle
  22. wake — a trail
  23. spring — of water
  24. fork — to eat with

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