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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: game · hand · spring · degree · season · lash · firm · toast

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. firm — steady
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. spring — of water
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. spring — a coil
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. season — of the year
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. firm — a company
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. toast — bread
  13. hand — in cards
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. degree — temperature
  16. game — wild animals
  17. game — a match
  18. hand — help
  19. firm — decided
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — an amount
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. spring — the season

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