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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: rash · fork · bowl · degree · ball · fall · spring · tear

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. degree — temperature
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. tear — to rip
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — to drop
  7. spring — the season
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. fork — in a road
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. rash — a series
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. rash — hasty
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. spring — a coil
  18. ball — a great time
  19. spring — of water
  20. degree — an amount
  21. tear — from crying
  22. ball — a dance
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. fall — the season

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