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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.

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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 · spring · cold · swing · chest · row · cue · key

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. row — to paddle
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. swing — in golf
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. key — the most important part
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. cold — not warm
  10. chest — a box
  11. cue — a hint
  12. cold — an illness
  13. chest — of your body
  14. cue — a signal
  15. row — a line
  16. key — in music
  17. cue — for pool
  18. swing — music
  19. spring — of water
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. swing — to play on
  22. key — for a lock
  23. spring — the season
  24. chest — of your body

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