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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: wind · spring · tear · object · rest · bowl

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. rest — what's left
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. spring — the season
  7. rest — what's left
  8. tear — from crying
  9. object — to protest
  10. wind — moving air
  11. object — a thing
  12. tear — from crying
  13. object — an aim
  14. rest — a break
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — of water
  18. wind — moving air

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