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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: bound · row · wax · fork · spring · object · ball · chest

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. object — a thing
  3. chest — of your body
  4. object — an aim
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. wax — to grow
  7. row — a line
  8. bound — tied together
  9. spring — a coil
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bound — obliged
  12. bound — certain
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. object — to protest
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. ball — a great time
  18. row — to paddle
  19. fork — in a road
  20. ball — a dance
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. chest — a box
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. spring — of water

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