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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: land · wound · date · season · net · coach · lean · cell

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. net — after costs
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. lean — to bend
  8. wound — an injury
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. land — a country
  12. net — for catching
  13. lean — thin
  14. cell — a phone
  15. season — in sport
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. net — in sport
  19. season — of the year
  20. land — ground
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. land — to come down
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. cell — in biology

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