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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: fork · season · bowl · perch · face · spring · cold · sharp

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. face — to point toward
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — the fish
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. season — in sport
  9. spring — a coil
  10. season — of the year
  11. sharp — clever
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. fork — in a road
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. face — to confront
  17. cold — not warm
  18. spring — the season
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. face — part of the head
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. spring — of water

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