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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: board · spell · foot · kick · cold · spring · ground · leaves

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spell — a short time
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. ground — crushed
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. cold — not warm
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. ground — a position
  12. board — a committee
  13. spell — magic
  14. spell — letters
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. board — to get on
  19. kick — in football
  20. foot — a measure
  21. cold — an illness
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. spring — the season
  24. ground — the earth

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