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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.

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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: season · can · mine · lean · land · swing · hand · game

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. lean — to bend
  3. can — to be able to
  4. game — wild animals
  5. season — of the year
  6. lean — thin
  7. swing — music
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — for digging
  10. land — ground
  11. hand — in cards
  12. land — to come down
  13. swing — to play on
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. game — a match
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. season — in sport
  18. swing — in golf
  19. land — a country
  20. can — a tin
  21. hand — help
  22. can — a tin
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. season — to add flavour

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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