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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.

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: spring · hide · squash · track · cold · fork

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. spring — of water
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. cold — an illness
  5. squash — the sport
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. fork — in a road
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. track — to keep track
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. squash — to crush
  12. track — a song
  13. spring — a coil
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. spring — the season
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — not warm

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