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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 120 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: foot · bound · spring · tear · fall · fork · prune · coach

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — the season
  3. tear — from crying
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. prune — to trim
  6. foot — a measure
  7. bound — tied together
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. tear — to rip
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bound — obliged
  13. prune — to trim
  14. tear — from crying
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. bound — certain
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — the season
  22. spring — a coil
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. fall — to drop

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