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

Word bank: season · mine · cell · tear · toast · club

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. club — for dancing
  4. mine — for digging
  5. tear — from crying
  6. season — of the year
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cell — in biology
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. season — in sport
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. toast — bread
  16. club — a group
  17. club — for golf
  18. mine — an explosive

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