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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.

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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 · bear · spell · tear · mark · cap · swing · spring

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. cap — of ice
  3. spell — magic
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. mark — a grade
  6. spell — letters
  7. swing — music
  8. spell — a short time
  9. spring — a coil
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. bear — the animal
  13. tear — from crying
  14. swing — in golf
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cold — not warm
  18. swing — to play on
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. spring — the season
  21. cap — a hat
  22. cap — a lid
  23. mark — a trace
  24. spring — of water

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