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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: file · season · present · spring · tear · wake · pitcher · nail

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. present — there
  3. season — of the year
  4. spring — of water
  5. wake — a trail
  6. present — the time now
  7. tear — from crying
  8. file — a document
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. tear — to rip
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. season — in sport
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — a coil
  21. tear — from crying
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. present — a gift

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