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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.

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: spring · wound · safe · club · mug · root · cold · track

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. track — a path
  3. track — a song
  4. wound — an injury
  5. club — a group
  6. club — for golf
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. mug — to rob
  9. cold — an illness
  10. track — to keep track
  11. mug — a face
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. mug — a cup
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. root — of a word
  17. club — for dancing
  18. wound — an injury
  19. spring — of water
  20. cold — not warm
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. root — the cause
  23. root — of a plant
  24. spring — the season

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