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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. wake — a trail
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. spring — a coil
  5. fall — to drop
  6. hand — help
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fall — the season
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. fall — to drop
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. craft — boats
  14. spring — of water
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. sharp — clever
  17. hand — in cards
  18. craft — a skill
  19. fork — in a road
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. sharp — exactly

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