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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 116 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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — the season
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bank — for money
  8. bank — for money
  9. scale — size or range
  10. spring — a coil
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. scale — in music
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. chair — a leader
  15. bank — of a river
  16. cold — not warm
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. stand — to bear
  20. spell — letters
  21. spell — magic
  22. cold — an illness
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. spell — a short time

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