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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wind · bear · sharp · snap · date · spring · squash · tube

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. bear — the animal
  6. squash — to crush
  7. spring — of water
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. snap — to click
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bear — the animal
  13. tube — the underground
  14. wind — moving air
  15. tube — a container
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. spring — the season
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. date — the fruit
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. sharp — clever
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. squash — the sport
  24. bear — to put up 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