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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.

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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: hide · squash · coach · tear · cell · spring · wake · mark

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. spring — the season
  3. squash — to crush
  4. tear — from crying
  5. spring — a coil
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. tear — from crying
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — a phone
  13. mark — a trace
  14. mark — a grade
  15. cell — in biology
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. squash — the sport
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. spring — of water
  20. wake — a trail
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. tear — to rip
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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