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

Word bank: land · snap · spring · fork · deal · kid

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. land — a country
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. spring — of water
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. land — ground
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. snap — to click
  12. land — to come down
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — the season
  15. kid — to tease
  16. fork — in a road
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. deal — to handle

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