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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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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: foot · pass · spring · bat · kick · ruler · cold · wound

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. kick — in football
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pass — a permit
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. bat — the animal
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. foot — a measure
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. cold — an illness
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. cold — not warm
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — of water
  24. ruler — for measuring

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