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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: fan · ball · saw · pound · capital · spring · snap · tear

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. tear — to rip
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. capital — money
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. ball — a dance
  9. spring — a coil
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. saw — the tool
  12. snap — to click
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. tear — from crying
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. saw — the tool
  18. spring — the season
  19. capital — a city
  20. tear — from crying
  21. pound — a weight
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. ball — a great time
  24. capital — a big letter

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