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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 116 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: pound · wound · fork · row · nail · rush · spring · lash

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. wound — an injury
  6. spring — the season
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. pound — a weight
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. fork — in a road
  13. wound — an injury
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. rush — hurry
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. spring — a coil
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. row — to paddle
  21. row — a line
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. pound — for dogs

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