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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: coach · bowl · tube · fork · spring · plane · wake · pop

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. spring — of water
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. tube — a container
  8. plane — a tool
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. tube — the underground
  11. spring — the season
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. pop — soda
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. pop — to visit
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. spring — a coil
  23. fork — in a road
  24. wake — a trail

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