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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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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 · fall · spring · prune · kid · tube · face · tear

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. fall — to drop
  4. prune — to trim
  5. face — to point toward
  6. tear — to rip
  7. fall — the season
  8. spring — of water
  9. face — to confront
  10. foot — a measure
  11. spring — a coil
  12. tube — a container
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. kid — child
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. spring — the season
  17. tear — from crying
  18. fall — to drop
  19. prune — to trim
  20. tear — from crying
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. face — part of the head
  23. tube — the underground
  24. kid — to tease

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