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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: spring · net · rest · face · season · snap · hand · club

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. season — in sport
  3. club — a group
  4. club — for dancing
  5. season — of the year
  6. spring — of water
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. rest — a break
  9. face — to confront
  10. face — to point toward
  11. net — after costs
  12. hand — help
  13. rest — what's left
  14. net — in sport
  15. face — part of the head
  16. hand — in cards
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — the season
  21. snap — to click
  22. net — for catching
  23. club — for golf
  24. hand — part of the body

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