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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 116 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: fork · mine · present · wax · tear · kick · bowl · spring

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. present — the time now
  3. tear — from crying
  4. spring — the season
  5. fork — in a road
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. kick — in football
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. present — there
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. present — a gift
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. tear — to rip
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. spring — of water
  20. tear — from crying
  21. spring — a coil
  22. wax — to grow
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. mine — for digging

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