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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: rock · cabinet · sharp · season · wind · wound · key · spring

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. key — in music
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. sharp — clever
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — the season
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. key — for a lock
  9. wind — moving air
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — an injury
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. rock — a stone
  18. key — the most important part
  19. season — of the year
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. season — in sport
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. spring — of water
  24. wind — moving air

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