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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: kid · cold · key · craft · lash · tube · spring · leaves

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. tube — the underground
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — the season
  5. kid — to tease
  6. key — the most important part
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. kid — child
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. key — for a lock
  11. craft — a skill
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. craft — boats
  18. spring — a coil
  19. cold — not warm
  20. tube — a container
  21. key — in music
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. cold — an illness

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