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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 120 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: scale · fall · pit · spell · plane · staff · spring · cold

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. cold — not warm
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. spring — the season
  5. spell — magic
  6. plane — a tool
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. fall — the season
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. fall — to drop
  11. scale — in music
  12. cold — an illness
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spell — letters
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. pit — in a race
  17. staff — employees
  18. fall — to drop
  19. scale — size or range
  20. spell — a short time
  21. staff — a stick
  22. staff — employees
  23. pit — a hole
  24. cold — the Cold War

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