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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.

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: cold · file · leaves · date · spell · fine · spring · mine

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. spell — letters
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — the fruit
  8. spell — a short time
  9. cold — not warm
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. file — a tool
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. file — a document
  14. mine — for digging
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. cold — an illness
  17. fine — high quality
  18. spell — magic
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — a coil
  22. file — a line of people
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. fine — all right

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