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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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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: mine · wind · ground · fork · present · lash · racket · season

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. wind — moving air
  3. fork — in a road
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. season — in sport
  6. mine — for digging
  7. ground — a position
  8. wind — moving air
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. present — a gift
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. ground — crushed
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. present — there
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. ground — the earth
  20. season — of the year
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. present — the time now
  24. racket — for tennis

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