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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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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: tear · bark · bowl · spring · mark · fall · pound · plane

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. plane — a tool
  4. fall — to drop
  5. bark — to shout
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. spring — a coil
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. spring — the season
  15. mark — a trace
  16. fall — to drop
  17. tear — to rip
  18. fall — the season
  19. mark — a grade
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. spring — of water
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. bark — of a tree
  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