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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: ruler · court · fork · club · spring · perch · degree · fan

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. perch — the fish
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — an amount
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of a king
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — the season
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. degree — from a university
  14. club — for golf
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. spring — a coil
  17. club — a group
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. fork — in a road
  22. court — of law
  23. club — for dancing
  24. perch — for a bird

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