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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.

Make a worksheet

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: fork · spring · straw · bear · sharp · scale · temple · file

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. bear — the animal
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. spring — a coil
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. scale — in music
  9. file — a document
  10. spring — of water
  11. scale — size or range
  12. bear — the animal
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. file — a tool
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. fork — in a road
  18. sharp — clever
  19. file — a line of people
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. spring — the season

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