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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: spring · sharp · dip · mine · fork · track · kick · rush

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. track — a song
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. spring — the season
  8. kick — in football
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — of water
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. sharp — clever
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. track — to keep track
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. dip — to sink
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. rush — hurry
  21. fork — in a road
  22. track — a path
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. mine — for digging

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