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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: ground · kick · foot · wind · content · fork · spring · patient

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. foot — a measure
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. wind — moving air
  5. ground — a position
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. spring — the season
  9. content — the amount
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. content — happy
  14. wind — moving air
  15. kick — in football
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — a coil
  20. ground — the earth
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. ground — crushed

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