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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: game · jam · fork · land · firm · sharp · spring · dip

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. game — wild animals
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. dip — to sink
  5. land — ground
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. firm — steady
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. land — a country
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — a match
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. firm — a company
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. fork — in a road
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. sharp — clever
  19. spring — a coil
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. spring — the season
  22. firm — decided
  23. land — to come down
  24. spring — of water

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