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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: lean · date · season · clip · bank · mine · hand · craft

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. clip — to cut
  4. hand — help
  5. clip — a video
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — for digging
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. clip — for paper
  10. season — in sport
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. bank — for money
  13. date — the fruit
  14. hand — in cards
  15. bank — of a river
  16. lean — thin
  17. season — of the year
  18. craft — boats
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. lean — to bend
  23. craft — a skill
  24. bank — for money

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