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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: foot · game · can · spring · prune · chest · nail · cap

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. cap — a hat
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. spring — of water
  8. foot — a measure
  9. can — a tin
  10. cap — of ice
  11. prune — to trim
  12. can — a tin
  13. game — a match
  14. cap — a lid
  15. prune — to trim
  16. can — to be able to
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. chest — a box
  23. spring — a coil
  24. game — wild animals

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