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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: tube · roll · lean · pop · spring · tear · net · fall

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  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. roll — on a roll
  2. tear — to rip
  3. net — after costs
  4. fall — the season
  5. pop — music
  6. spring — of water
  7. pop — soda
  8. net — for catching
  9. spring — a coil
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. roll — a cake
  12. tube — the underground
  13. net — in sport
  14. roll — a list
  15. lean — to bend
  16. lean — thin
  17. fall — to drop
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. pop — to visit
  20. tube — a container
  21. spring — the season
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — from crying
  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