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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: spring · arm · fork · leaves · wake · rush · coach · cold

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. rush — hurry
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. cold — an illness
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. spring — a coil
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. spring — the season
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. fork — in a road
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. spring — of water
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. cold — not warm

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