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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: fan · can · lean · cell · calf · pop · last · season

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. can — a tin
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. lean — to bend
  6. pop — to visit
  7. pop — music
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. can — a tin
  10. cell — a phone
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. season — in sport
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. can — to be able to
  15. last — finally
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. pop — soda
  18. last — to go on
  19. lean — thin
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. last — final
  22. cell — in biology
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — of the leg

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