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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 · spring · cell · key · can · pitcher · foot · rash

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. key — for a lock
  4. cold — not warm
  5. can — to be able to
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — of water
  8. key — the most important part
  9. can — a tin
  10. cell — a phone
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. foot — a measure
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. can — a tin
  15. cold — an illness
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. key — in music
  20. cell — in biology
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. rash — hasty
  24. rash — a series

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