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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: spring · safe · net · bear · chair · march · lean · cell

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. net — in sport
  4. march — the month
  5. march — the month
  6. march — music
  7. cell — a phone
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. bear — the animal
  10. chair — a leader
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. net — for catching
  14. lean — thin
  15. spring — the season
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. cell — in biology
  18. net — after costs
  19. spring — of water
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. bear — the animal
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bear — to put up with

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