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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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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 · kick · plane · coach · fall · key · scale · cell

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. spring — the season
  4. fall — to drop
  5. key — for a lock
  6. scale — in music
  7. fall — to drop
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. fall — the season
  10. spring — of water
  11. kick — in football
  12. spring — a coil
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cell — in biology
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. cell — a phone
  17. plane — a tool
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. key — in music
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. scale — size or range

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