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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 120 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: fork · land · lash · present · spring · hide · last · chest

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. spring — the season
  4. last — finally
  5. last — to go on
  6. chest — of your body
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. chest — a box
  9. fork — in a road
  10. last — final
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. land — a country
  13. land — to come down
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. land — ground
  16. present — a gift
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. chest — of your body
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. present — the time now
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. present — there
  24. spring — of water

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