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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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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: fork · stock · kid · pitcher · file · spring · snap · kick

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — the season
  5. kid — to tease
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. file — a document
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — goods
  13. file — a tool
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. fork — in a road
  16. file — a line of people
  17. kick — in football
  18. kid — child
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. snap — to click
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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