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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: chest · cap · hand · spell · spring · bulb · season · rash

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  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. bulb — of a plant
  2. cap — of ice
  3. rash — a series
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spell — a short time
  6. season — of the year
  7. hand — help
  8. spring — of water
  9. hand — in cards
  10. chest — a box
  11. cap — a lid
  12. chest — of your body
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. spell — letters
  15. spring — the season
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — for light
  18. rash — hasty
  19. cap — a hat
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. spell — magic
  22. chest — of your body
  23. season — in sport
  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