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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 · tear · mate · cold · can · rest · wound · cabinet

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cold — not warm
  3. spring — the season
  4. mate — a friend
  5. rest — a break
  6. spring — a coil
  7. can — a tin
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wound — an injury
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. spring — of water
  13. can — to be able to
  14. mate — a partner
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rest — what's left
  19. tear — to rip
  20. mate — to breed
  21. can — a tin
  22. rest — what's left
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cabinet — ministers

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