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

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  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. spring — of water
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. can — to be able to
  6. game — wild animals
  7. can — a tin
  8. rush — hurry
  9. can — a tin
  10. mate — to breed
  11. spring — the season
  12. wind — moving air
  13. game — a match
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. mate — a friend
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. mate — a partner
  19. spring — a coil
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. fork — in a road

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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