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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: spring · rash · fork · wind · wound · bass · snap · chip

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. snap — to click
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bass — low music
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. fork — in a road
  15. wind — moving air
  16. spring — the season
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. rash — hasty
  19. spring — a coil
  20. chip — to eat
  21. spring — of water
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chip — for betting
  24. bass — the fish

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