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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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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: leaves · stand · pop · file · spring · foot · cold · wax

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. cold — an illness
  4. pop — to visit
  5. stand — to bear
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. wax — to grow
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. foot — a measure
  10. spring — a coil
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. file — a tool
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. pop — soda
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a line of people
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. cold — not warm
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. pop — music
  23. spring — of water
  24. foot — part of the body

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