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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: fine · spring · cold · content · chest · firm · degree · coach

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. chest — of your body
  3. spring — the season
  4. content — the amount
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. cold — not warm
  7. firm — decided
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. degree — from a university
  10. fine — high quality
  11. degree — temperature
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. fine — all right
  14. chest — a box
  15. cold — an illness
  16. firm — a company
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. firm — steady
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. degree — an amount
  21. spring — of water
  22. chest — of your body
  23. content — happy
  24. fine — a penalty

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