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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 116 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: ground · cell · season · club · rest · lean

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. cell — a phone
  3. lean — thin
  4. club — for golf
  5. rest — what's left
  6. ground — a position
  7. club — for dancing
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. rest — what's left
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. lean — to bend
  12. cell — in biology
  13. ground — the earth
  14. season — of the year
  15. season — in sport
  16. ground — crushed
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. club — a group

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