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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 · season · cabinet · spring · pit · present · last · wave

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. spring — a coil
  3. pit — a hole
  4. pit — in a race
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. present — there
  7. season — of the year
  8. cold — an illness
  9. last — to go on
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. last — finally
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. present — a gift
  16. last — final
  17. spring — of water
  18. cold — not warm
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. spring — the season
  23. present — the time now
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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