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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. spring — of water
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — a coil
  6. staff — a stick
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. staff — employees
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. hand — help
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — for light
  17. degree — from a university
  18. staff — employees
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. hand — in cards
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — an amount
  24. safe — out of danger

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