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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: spring · pass · fork · hand · land · pop · object · bore

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. land — a country
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. spring — of water
  5. object — an aim
  6. land — to come down
  7. bore — to drill
  8. pass — a permit
  9. fork — in a road
  10. hand — in cards
  11. pop — music
  12. object — a thing
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. hand — help
  15. pop — soda
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. spring — the season
  20. pop — to visit
  21. object — to protest
  22. spring — a coil
  23. land — ground
  24. bore — to tire

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