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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: spring · sharp · lean · cell · net · bound · key · roll

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. bound — tied together
  3. bound — obliged
  4. roll — a cake
  5. lean — thin
  6. key — for a lock
  7. spring — the season
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. key — in music
  10. spring — a coil
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. spring — of water
  13. net — in sport
  14. cell — in biology
  15. net — after costs
  16. key — the most important part
  17. cell — a phone
  18. bound — certain
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. lean — to bend
  21. roll — a list
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. net — for catching

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