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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: fork · saw · rest · spell · wound · season · club · content

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. wound — an injury
  4. fork — in a road
  5. club — for dancing
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. content — happy
  8. rest — what's left
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. season — of the year
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. saw — the tool
  14. spell — a short time
  15. club — for golf
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. content — the amount
  18. rest — a break
  19. club — a group
  20. season — in sport
  21. spell — magic
  22. saw — the tool
  23. rest — what's left
  24. season — to add flavour

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