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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 120 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: band · fork · spring · wind · wake · lash · pitcher · ruler

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wake — a trail
  4. spring — the season
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. band — a ring
  8. wind — moving air
  9. spring — a coil
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. band — a music group
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. fork — in a road
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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