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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: saw · wind · leaves · mate · season · date · fork · stick

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. saw — the tool
  6. season — of the year
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. season — in sport
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. wind — moving air
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. date — the fruit
  15. fork — in a road
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. mate — a partner
  18. mate — a friend
  19. saw — the tool
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. date — on the calendar

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