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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: foot · shower · spring · content · present · fork · bay · dip

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. foot — a measure
  4. content — happy
  5. present — there
  6. shower — to wash
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. content — the amount
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. present — a gift
  12. spring — of water
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. spring — a coil
  17. shower — rain
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. dip — to sink
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. present — the time now
  23. spring — the season
  24. fork — in a road

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