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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: calf · rush · snap · net · spring · bat · fork · date

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. spring — of water
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. rush — hurry
  5. date — the fruit
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. bat — the animal
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — for catching
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. net — in sport
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. spring — the season
  21. fork — in a road
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. snap — to click

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