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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 116 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: hand · wake · snap · season · wind · spring · kid · bore

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. wake — a trail
  3. wind — moving air
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. spring — the season
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. season — of the year
  9. hand — help
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. hand — in cards
  12. kid — child
  13. wind — moving air
  14. spring — a coil
  15. season — in sport
  16. bore — to tire
  17. kid — to tease
  18. snap — to click
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. spring — of water
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. bore — to drill

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