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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: game · tear · spring · leaves · bowl · fan · bark · season

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bark — to shout
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. game — wild animals
  9. season — in sport
  10. tear — to rip
  11. spring — of water
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. game — a match
  17. spring — the season
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. spring — a coil
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. season — of the year
  24. bowl — a football final

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