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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 116 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: fork · nail · firm · content · spring · rash · file · season

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. rash — a series
  3. firm — steady
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. file — a line of people
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. firm — decided
  8. spring — of water
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. rash — hasty
  14. file — a tool
  15. fork — in a road
  16. file — a document
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — happy
  19. spring — a coil
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. spring — the season
  23. season — of the year
  24. season — in sport

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