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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: hand · spring · toast · mug · coach · tear · saw · jam

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. tear — to rip
  4. spring — a coil
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. saw — the tool
  7. mug — a cup
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. hand — help
  10. spring — the season
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. mug — a face
  13. saw — the tool
  14. hand — in cards
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. tear — from crying
  17. mug — to rob
  18. toast — bread
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. tear — from crying
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. coach — a trainer

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