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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
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 · rock · coach · hide · snap · fan · tear · saw

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  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. hide — to keep secret
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. snap — to click
  5. rock — a stone
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. tear — from crying
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. spring — a coil
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. spring — of water
  16. tear — to rip
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. saw — the tool
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. saw — the tool
  22. rock — music
  23. spring — the season
  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