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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: cell · cold · leaves · fine · spring · pitcher · key · lean

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. spring — of water
  3. cell — in biology
  4. spring — a coil
  5. cold — an illness
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. cold — not warm
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. lean — to bend
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. spring — the season
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. key — the most important part
  15. fine — high quality
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. cell — a phone
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. key — in music
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. key — for a lock
  23. fine — all right
  24. leaves — to go away

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