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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 120 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: cold · saw · spring · rest · track · snap · can · object

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. object — a thing
  3. rest — a break
  4. track — to keep track
  5. object — an aim
  6. saw — the tool
  7. snap — to click
  8. can — a tin
  9. object — to protest
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. track — a song
  12. cold — not warm
  13. can — to be able to
  14. spring — a coil
  15. rest — what's left
  16. spring — of water
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. cold — an illness
  19. saw — the tool
  20. track — a path
  21. can — a tin
  22. rest — what's left
  23. spring — the season
  24. cold — the Cold War

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