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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spring · foot · tube · fan · wave · tear · kid · spell

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  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. fan — to cool the air
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — child
  8. tear — to rip
  9. spell — letters
  10. spring — a coil
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. spring — of water
  13. foot — a measure
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. tube — a container
  16. spell — a short time
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. tube — the underground
  21. spring — the season
  22. spell — magic
  23. foot — the bottom
  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