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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 120 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: straw · lean · spring · chest · fork · bear · sharp · pit

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. spring — of water
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. pit — in a race
  8. fork — in a road
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. pit — a hole
  11. spring — a coil
  12. sharp — clever
  13. spring — the season
  14. bear — the animal
  15. lean — thin
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. chest — of your body
  18. lean — to bend
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. chest — of your body
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. chest — a box
  24. bear — the animal

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