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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 116 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: bowl · cap · present · fork · degree · rash · coach · wind

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. rash — hasty
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rash — a series
  6. present — the time now
  7. fork — in a road
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. present — a gift
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. present — there
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cap — a hat
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — temperature
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cap — of ice
  24. degree — from a university

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