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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
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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: rest · spring · leaves · rush · degree · track · cold · tear

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — an illness
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. tear — to rip
  6. track — a path
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. spring — a coil
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. rest — what's left
  11. degree — an amount
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. rest — a break
  14. degree — temperature
  15. track — to keep track
  16. rest — what's left
  17. tear — from crying
  18. spring — of water
  19. track — a song
  20. degree — from a university
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. spring — the season
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. rush — hurry

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