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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: cold · spring · perch · key · rash · season · lie · tube

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. cold — not warm
  3. spring — a coil
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. perch — the fish
  6. rash — a series
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. spring — the season
  9. season — of the year
  10. key — in music
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. spring — of water
  16. rash — hasty
  17. cold — an illness
  18. tube — a container
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. season — in sport
  21. key — the most important part
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. tube — the underground
  24. lie — to recline

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