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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
468
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: spring · wake · bear · scale · last · face · degree · fork

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  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. scale — in music
  2. last — final
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. spring — the season
  5. wake — a trail
  6. degree — from a university
  7. last — to go on
  8. spring — a coil
  9. last — finally
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. spring — of water
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. fork — in a road
  14. face — to confront
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bear — the animal
  17. degree — temperature
  18. face — part of the head
  19. bear — the animal
  20. scale — size or range
  21. face — to point toward
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. bear — to put up with
  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