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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: chest · sharp · leaves · spring · stand · season · hide · pop

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. chest — of your body
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. pop — soda
  5. spring — a coil
  6. sharp — clever
  7. pop — to visit
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. spring — the season
  12. chest — of your body
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. stand — to bear
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. spring — of water
  19. pop — music
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. season — in sport
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. season — of the year
  24. chest — a box

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