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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: season · hand · mug · spring · fork · bat · cold · bay

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. mug — to rob
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. fork — in a road
  6. season — of the year
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. mug — a face
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bat — the animal
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — in sport
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. spring — a coil
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. hand — in cards
  17. spring — of water
  18. mug — a cup
  19. cold — an illness
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. cold — not warm
  22. spring — the season
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. hand — help

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