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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: cabinet · spring · land · bear · season · bat · drill · face

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. face — to point toward
  4. spring — the season
  5. drill — army training
  6. spring — of water
  7. bat — the animal
  8. land — ground
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. season — of the year
  11. season — in sport
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bear — the animal
  15. drill — the tool
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. face — to confront
  20. land — a country
  21. spring — a coil
  22. drill — a practice
  23. bear — the animal
  24. land — to come down

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