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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 · bore · saw · wax · row · spring · foot · net

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. foot — a measure
  3. net — after costs
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — of water
  6. net — in sport
  7. bore — to drill
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. wax — to grow
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bore — to tire
  12. row — to paddle
  13. spring — a coil
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. row — a line
  16. net — for catching
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. saw — the tool
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. foot — part of the body

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