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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 120 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: race · last · spring · cold · cell · safe · cue · net

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. spring — a coil
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. spring — of water
  6. last — finally
  7. last — to go on
  8. cue — a hint
  9. race — the arms race
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — an illness
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. cue — for pool
  14. cold — not warm
  15. last — final
  16. cue — a signal
  17. cell — in biology
  18. race — a contest
  19. net — for catching
  20. race — humankind
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. net — after costs
  23. cell — a phone
  24. net — in sport

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