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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 · saw · wave · content · mine · fork · file · cue

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. cue — a signal
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. content — happy
  5. file — a tool
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. mine — for digging
  8. spring — a coil
  9. fork — in a road
  10. cue — for pool
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. spring — the season
  13. saw — the tool
  14. file — a line of people
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. saw — the tool
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. spring — of water
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. file — a document
  24. cue — a hint

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