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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: lean · trunk · fork · hand · court · spell · tear · bowl

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. hand — help
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. lean — to bend
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. court — of law
  8. court — of a king
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. fork — in a road
  11. spell — letters
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. court — for sport
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. tear — to rip
  17. lean — thin
  18. spell — magic
  19. tear — from crying
  20. spell — a short time
  21. hand — in cards
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. tear — from crying

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