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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: deal · bat · saw · fork · last · spring · content · tube

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. fork — in a road
  3. last — to go on
  4. deal — to handle
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. saw — the tool
  7. content — happy
  8. tube — the underground
  9. saw — the tool
  10. spring — of water
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. last — finally
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. spring — a coil
  17. tube — a container
  18. spring — the season
  19. bat — the animal
  20. last — final
  21. content — the amount
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. fork — to eat with

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