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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: stem · spell · lean · hand · fork · kick · season · fall

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. season — of the year
  3. spell — letters
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. fork — in a road
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. kick — in football
  10. stem — to come from
  11. fall — to drop
  12. spell — a short time
  13. hand — help
  14. spell — magic
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. hand — in cards
  19. season — in sport
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. lean — to bend
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. fork — a garden tool

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