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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
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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: file · cap · root · spell · bound · pitcher · spring · tear

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — a coil
  4. cap — of ice
  5. spring — the season
  6. spell — letters
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. file — a line of people
  9. spell — a short time
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bound — certain
  13. root — of a plant
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. root — the cause
  16. root — of a word
  17. file — a document
  18. bound — obliged
  19. spell — magic
  20. bound — tied together
  21. tear — to rip
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cap — a lid

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