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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 · kid · last · snap · season · chair · wave · shower

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. season — in sport
  3. last — to go on
  4. chair — a leader
  5. snap — to click
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — a coil
  8. shower — rain
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. spring — the season
  12. kid — child
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. last — finally
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. season — of the year
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. last — final
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. kid — to tease
  24. shower — to wash

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