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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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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: rest · spring · fork · pound · snap · mark · game · bound

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. spring — of water
  3. fork — in a road
  4. rest — a break
  5. spring — the season
  6. bound — tied together
  7. game — a match
  8. spring — a coil
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. rest — what's left
  12. mark — a trace
  13. bound — obliged
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — wild animals
  16. bound — certain
  17. pound — a weight
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. rest — what's left
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. mark — a grade
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. snap — to click
  24. fork — a garden tool

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