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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: rush · key · spring · cold · degree · craft · pitcher · stand

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. degree — from a university
  3. stand — to bear
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. degree — temperature
  6. craft — a skill
  7. key — the most important part
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. rush — hurry
  11. craft — boats
  12. key — for a lock
  13. key — in music
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. degree — an amount
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. cold — an illness
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — the season
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  24. stand — on your feet

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