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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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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: deal · staff · spring · cold · race · key · field · lash

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. field — farmland
  3. race — the arms race
  4. deal — to handle
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — a subject
  8. key — the most important part
  9. key — for a lock
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — the season
  12. race — a contest
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. staff — employees
  15. staff — a stick
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. staff — employees
  18. race — humankind
  19. cold — an illness
  20. key — in music
  21. cold — not warm
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. spring — a coil
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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