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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 · fall · pass · mine · wake · fork · court · content

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. spring — the season
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. wake — a trail
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. fall — to drop
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. pass — a permit
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. court — for sport
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. spring — of water
  15. spring — a coil
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fork — in a road
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. content — the amount
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. mine — for digging
  22. court — of law
  23. court — of a king
  24. content — happy

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