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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: spring · trunk · mine · kid · lean · fork · sharp · stick

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. fork — in a road
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. lean — to bend
  9. kid — child
  10. sharp — clever
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. kid — to tease
  15. spring — a coil
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. spring — of water
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. spring — the season
  23. lean — thin
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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