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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 116 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: root · season · fan · lash · kick · sharp · wound · spring

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — in sport
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. spring — a coil
  9. root — of a plant
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. root — of a word
  13. wound — an injury
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. wound — an injury
  16. sharp — clever
  17. spring — the season
  18. kick — in football
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. root — the cause
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. spring — of water

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