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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.

Make a worksheet

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: pop · season · wave · spring · chest · temple · coach · cold

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. pop — soda
  3. cold — an illness
  4. pop — to visit
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — a coil
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. chest — of your body
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. season — in sport
  14. pop — music
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. chest — a box
  19. cold — not warm
  20. chest — of your body
  21. season — of the year
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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