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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 · spell · lean · straw · racket · rest · last · season

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. lean — thin
  3. spell — a short time
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. last — finally
  7. last — to go on
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — of the year
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. rest — what's left
  13. spell — letters
  14. season — in sport
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. spring — of water
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. lean — to bend
  19. rest — what's left
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — a coil
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. rest — a break
  24. spell — magic

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