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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: plane · fork · hand · spring · chip · suit · wound · season

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — an injury
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. suit — in cards
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. spring — a coil
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — the season
  13. suit — to fit
  14. plane — a tool
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. hand — in cards
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. season — in sport
  20. chip — for betting
  21. fork — in a road
  22. chip — to eat
  23. hand — help
  24. suit — clothes

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