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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 116 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: spring · deal · tear · spell · wake · court · snap · trunk

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. deal — to handle
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. tear — to rip
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. court — of a king
  8. spell — letters
  9. spring — of water
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. spring — a coil
  12. snap — to click
  13. tear — from crying
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. court — for sport
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. spell — magic
  18. spring — the season
  19. spell — a short time
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. tear — from crying
  22. court — of law
  23. wake — a trail
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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