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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: spring · wake · calf · rest · cold · net · saw · face

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — not warm
  4. face — to point toward
  5. saw — the tool
  6. net — for catching
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. spring — a coil
  10. rest — what's left
  11. spring — the season
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. cold — an illness
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. net — after costs
  16. rest — a break
  17. wake — a trail
  18. saw — the tool
  19. face — to confront
  20. face — part of the head
  21. rest — what's left
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. net — in sport

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