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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.

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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: cabinet · staff · branch · pit · key · cold · race · spring

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. race — the arms race
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — a coil
  6. pit — in a race
  7. staff — a stick
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. key — in music
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. key — the most important part
  14. staff — employees
  15. branch — a division
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. key — for a lock
  18. race — humankind
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — an illness
  21. race — a contest
  22. staff — employees
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. pit — a hole

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