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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: kick · mine · squash · season · kid · bound · fan · spring

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. season — of the year
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. season — in sport
  7. mine — for digging
  8. bound — obliged
  9. spring — a coil
  10. kid — to tease
  11. squash — to crush
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — in football
  14. squash — the sport
  15. bound — tied together
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — child
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. spring — the season
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bound — certain

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