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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: season · spell · tear · mate · lean · lash · bulb · cold

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. mate — to breed
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. mate — a partner
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. cold — not warm
  9. season — of the year
  10. bulb — for light
  11. spell — a short time
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. spell — letters
  14. mate — a friend
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. bulb — for light
  18. lean — thin
  19. season — in sport
  20. cold — an illness
  21. spell — magic
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. season — to add flavour

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