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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 · scale · cold · snap · bound · kid · rock · nail

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. scale — size or range
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. scale — in music
  6. cold — not warm
  7. spring — the season
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bound — certain
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. snap — to click
  15. kid — to tease
  16. spring — a coil
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. kid — child
  19. rock — a stone
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. rock — music
  22. cold — an illness
  23. spring — of water
  24. bound — tied together

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