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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: fork · deal · season · drill · squash · saw · spring · lean

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. lean — to bend
  4. squash — to crush
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. lean — thin
  7. season — in sport
  8. deal — to handle
  9. saw — the tool
  10. squash — the sport
  11. drill — the tool
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. season — of the year
  15. spring — the season
  16. drill — army training
  17. fork — in a road
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. saw — the tool
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — of water
  24. drill — a practice

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