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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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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: bay · fork · cold · bowl · spring · fine · bulb · tear

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. fine — all right
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. tear — to rip
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bulb — for light
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bulb — for light
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. fork — in a road
  21. spring — of water
  22. fine — high quality
  23. spring — the season
  24. bowl — a dish

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