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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.

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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: suit · spring · kid · wind · stock · cell · leaves · fall

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. suit — clothes
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. cell — a phone
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. fall — the season
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. fall — to drop
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — child
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. fall — to drop
  13. cell — in biology
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. suit — in cards
  17. stock — shares
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. wind — moving air
  20. stock — goods
  21. suit — to fit
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — a coil
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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