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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: cell · bore · race · leaves · can · spring · wake · season

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. can — to be able to
  3. spring — a coil
  4. can — a tin
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. cell — a phone
  7. bore — to drill
  8. race — humankind
  9. season — of the year
  10. bore — to tire
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. cell — in biology
  14. race — a contest
  15. wake — a trail
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. race — the arms race
  19. season — in sport
  20. can — a tin
  21. spring — the season
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. spring — of water
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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