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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: spell · spring · fall · wax · row · date · net · bark

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — a coil
  3. wax — to grow
  4. row — a line
  5. spell — a short time
  6. spring — of water
  7. spell — magic
  8. spell — letters
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. fall — the season
  11. fall — to drop
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. net — in sport
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. date — the fruit
  20. net — for catching
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. net — after costs
  23. fall — to drop
  24. row — to paddle

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