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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: perch · bat · tear · spring · bear · snap · spell · ball

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — a coil
  3. perch — the fish
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. spell — magic
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. spring — of water
  8. ball — a dance
  9. bat — the animal
  10. tear — from crying
  11. ball — a great time
  12. bear — the animal
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. spell — letters
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. spell — a short time
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. snap — to click
  20. bear — the animal
  21. tear — from crying
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. perch — for a bird

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