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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: kick · tear · band · wound · bowl · spell · coach · spring

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wound — an injury
  4. tear — to rip
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. band — a ring
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. wound — an injury
  9. spell — letters
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. spring — of water
  12. band — a music group
  13. tear — from crying
  14. kick — in football
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. spring — a coil
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. spell — magic
  22. spring — the season
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. spell — a short time

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