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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 120 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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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: fork · bay · shower · deal · pound · spring · capital · fine

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — in a road
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. spring — the season
  7. shower — rain
  8. fine — all right
  9. capital — money
  10. spring — a coil
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. deal — to handle
  14. fine — high quality
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. spring — of water
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. pound — a weight
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. capital — a city

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