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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: vault · spring · net · leaves · cue · swing · cold · sharp

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. cue — a hint
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. swing — to play on
  5. cue — a signal
  6. cold — an illness
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — the season
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. vault — a safe
  12. net — in sport
  13. swing — in golf
  14. cue — for pool
  15. spring — of water
  16. net — for catching
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. net — after costs
  20. swing — music
  21. cold — not warm
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. sharp — exactly

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