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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. staff — employees
  3. cell — in biology
  4. capital — money
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — in sport
  7. capital — a city
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. cell — a phone
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. hand — in cards
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. staff — employees
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. snap — to click
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. bound — obliged
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. bound — tied together
  21. bound — certain
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. staff — a stick
  24. hand — help

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