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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 · racket · temple · wax · leaves · coach · foot · last

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. last — to go on
  5. spring — of water
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. wax — to grow
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. last — final
  14. foot — a measure
  15. spring — the season
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. last — finally
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. foot — the bottom

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