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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: bowl · foot · spring · march · chair · bear · bat · fork

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. spring — of water
  7. fork — in a road
  8. chair — a leader
  9. spring — a coil
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. march — music
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. foot — a measure
  23. spring — the season
  24. foot — part of the body

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