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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: season · board · fork · sharp · spring · arm · straw · cold

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. spring — the season
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. season — in sport
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. sharp — clever
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. cold — an illness
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. season — of the year
  15. fork — in a road
  16. cold — not warm
  17. spring — a coil
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. board — to get on
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. spring — of water
  22. board — a committee
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. season — to add flavour

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