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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: wind · spring · tear · object · rest · bowl · pass · coach

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. object — to protest
  4. pass — a permit
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. object — a thing
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. tear — from crying
  12. object — an aim
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. rest — a break
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. spring — a coil
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — what's left
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. spring — of water
  23. spring — the season
  24. wind — moving air

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