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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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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: bowl · spring · court · craft · fall · fan · lean · tear

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fall — the season
  3. craft — boats
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fall — to drop
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. spring — of water
  9. court — for sport
  10. spring — a coil
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. lean — thin
  15. tear — to rip
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. lean — to bend
  18. tear — from crying
  19. court — of a king
  20. craft — a skill
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. court — of law
  24. spring — the season

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