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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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Word bank
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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: game · fork · sharp · shower · spring · object · mine · squash

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. spring — a coil
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. sharp — clever
  5. spring — of water
  6. object — an aim
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — a match
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. squash — to crush
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. game — wild animals
  13. fork — in a road
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. shower — to wash
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — for digging
  18. object — to protest
  19. spring — the season
  20. squash — the sport
  21. object — a thing
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. shower — rain
  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