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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: nail · last · court · spring · snap · kick · fork · date

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. spring — the season
  4. kick — in football
  5. last — final
  6. spring — of water
  7. date — the fruit
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. court — of law
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. snap — to click
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. court — of a king
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. court — for sport
  23. last — finally
  24. spring — a coil

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