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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: pound · spell · fall · tube · season · rock · cold · root

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — the season
  5. pound — a weight
  6. season — of the year
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. root — of a plant
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. tube — a container
  11. cold — not warm
  12. rock — a stone
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. spell — a short time
  15. rock — music
  16. fall — to drop
  17. spell — letters
  18. season — in sport
  19. cold — an illness
  20. root — of a word
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. root — the cause
  23. tube — the underground
  24. rock — to move gently

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