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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: leaves · tube · cold · snap · cell · coach · ball · spring

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. cold — an illness
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. cell — a phone
  8. tube — a container
  9. snap — to click
  10. tube — the underground
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. spring — of water
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. ball — a dance
  15. cold — not warm
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. spring — a coil
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. cell — in biology
  21. spring — the season
  22. ball — a great time
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. coach — a trainer

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