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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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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: ground · fork · bulb · shower · pit · season · spring · pop

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. pit — in a race
  3. shower — to wash
  4. pop — soda
  5. ground — the earth
  6. pop — music
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. bulb — for light
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. ground — crushed
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. ground — a position
  13. season — of the year
  14. bulb — for light
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. pop — to visit
  17. fork — in a road
  18. season — in sport
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — of water
  22. shower — rain
  23. spring — a coil
  24. pit — a hole

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