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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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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: last · deal · pop · foot · wind · leaves · season · fork

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. pop — soda
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. season — in sport
  5. last — final
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. deal — to handle
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pop — to visit
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. season — of the year
  14. last — finally
  15. foot — a measure
  16. pop — music
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. wind — moving air
  21. last — to go on
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. fork — in a road

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