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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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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 · drill · race · last · tear · mark · face · pound

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. mark — a grade
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — from crying
  5. mark — a trace
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. last — finally
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — final
  11. tear — to rip
  12. face — part of the head
  13. race — humankind
  14. drill — a practice
  15. spring — of water
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. face — to point toward
  18. race — a contest
  19. drill — army training
  20. race — the arms race
  21. drill — the tool
  22. pound — a weight
  23. face — to confront
  24. spring — a coil

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