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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: mate · ruler · spring · cold · rash · craft · tear · sharp

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. sharp — clever
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. mate — a friend
  6. spring — of water
  7. rash — a series
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. craft — a skill
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. cold — not warm
  12. tear — from crying
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. craft — boats
  15. mate — to breed
  16. rash — hasty
  17. tear — to rip
  18. spring — a coil
  19. cold — an illness
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. tear — from crying
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. mate — a partner

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