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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: cold · lean · season · wave · staff · rash · game · saw

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. season — of the year
  3. staff — a stick
  4. lean — thin
  5. season — in sport
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. staff — employees
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. rash — a series
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. game — wild animals
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. game — a match
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — an illness
  21. lean — to bend
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. staff — employees
  24. saw — the tool

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