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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 · shower · plane · fork · prune · saw · rock · dip

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — of water
  3. prune — to trim
  4. spring — a coil
  5. rock — music
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. saw — the tool
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — to wash
  11. prune — to trim
  12. saw — the tool
  13. plane — a tool
  14. fork — in a road
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. shower — rain
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. rock — a stone
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. dip — to sink

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