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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 120 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: hand · season · spring · rule · mate · mark · track · cell

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. cell — a phone
  3. track — a path
  4. hand — help
  5. mark — a trace
  6. track — a song
  7. spring — a coil
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. mate — a friend
  10. spring — of water
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. spring — the season
  13. track — to keep track
  14. season — of the year
  15. rule — a law
  16. hand — in cards
  17. mark — a grade
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. cell — in biology
  21. mate — to breed
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. rule — government
  24. season — in sport

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