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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: wound · roll · last · spring · key · wake · fork · rock

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. fork — in a road
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. spring — of water
  5. key — the most important part
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. roll — a cake
  9. key — for a lock
  10. wound — an injury
  11. key — in music
  12. rock — music
  13. rock — a stone
  14. spring — a coil
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. last — final
  17. spring — the season
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — finally
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. roll — a list
  24. wake — a trail

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