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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: spring · lean · sharp · roll · last · race · cabinet · net

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. spring — the season
  5. roll — a list
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. sharp — clever
  9. lean — to bend
  10. last — to go on
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. race — the arms race
  13. roll — a cake
  14. net — after costs
  15. net — in sport
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. race — humankind
  18. spring — a coil
  19. last — final
  20. last — finally
  21. lean — thin
  22. race — a contest
  23. net — for catching
  24. roll — on a roll

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