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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: trunk · spring · pitcher · mug · bowl · fork · tear · cabinet

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. mug — to rob
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. spring — a coil
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. mug — a face
  13. spring — of water
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. spring — the season
  16. mug — a cup
  17. fork — in a road
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. tear — from crying

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