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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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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: cap · spell · fork · bowl · object · race · stem · degree

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. degree — from a university
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. degree — an amount
  5. spell — letters
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. cap — a lid
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. race — the arms race
  13. spell — a short time
  14. object — an aim
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. cap — a hat
  18. race — humankind
  19. race — a contest
  20. object — to protest
  21. degree — temperature
  22. object — a thing
  23. cap — of ice
  24. fork — in a road

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