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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: bowl · tear · spell · fall · wind · bear

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. spell — magic
  4. fall — the season
  5. spell — letters
  6. wind — moving air
  7. fall — to drop
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. bear — the animal
  11. tear — from crying
  12. spell — a short time
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. wind — moving air
  16. fall — to drop
  17. tear — to rip
  18. bear — the animal

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