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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: tube · spell · ground · field · bear · spring · tear · fine

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. ground — a position
  3. tear — to rip
  4. spring — the season
  5. ground — the earth
  6. spell — letters
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. spell — a short time
  9. tear — from crying
  10. spell — magic
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. field — a subject
  13. tear — from crying
  14. ground — crushed
  15. field — farmland
  16. tube — the underground
  17. spring — of water
  18. bear — the animal
  19. fine — all right
  20. fine — high quality
  21. field — for sport
  22. tube — a container
  23. spring — a coil
  24. tube — in a tire

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