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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: rest · degree · capital · spell · fork · racket · bear · drill

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. drill — a practice
  3. drill — the tool
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. capital — money
  9. rest — a break
  10. bear — the animal
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. degree — temperature
  14. spell — magic
  15. degree — from a university
  16. capital — a city
  17. drill — army training
  18. spell — a short time
  19. rest — what's left
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. degree — an amount
  22. fork — in a road
  23. spell — letters
  24. rest — what's left

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