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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  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. saw — the tool
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. bulb — for light
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. rush — hurry
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. saw — the tool
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. spring — a coil
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. wind — moving air
  15. row — a line
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. row — to paddle
  18. wind — moving air
  19. spring — the season
  20. bulb — for light
  21. fork — in a road
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. spring — of water
  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