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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · fine · bound · chest · nail · cold · fall · stand

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. fine — high quality
  3. cold — not warm
  4. fall — the season
  5. chest — of your body
  6. fall — to drop
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. spring — of water
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. bound — obliged
  16. spring — a coil
  17. stand — to bear
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. fine — all right
  20. fall — to drop
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. bound — certain
  24. bound — tied together

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