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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: hand · bay · lean · track · season · cabinet · cell · spring

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  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. lean — to bend
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. hand — in cards
  5. cell — a phone
  6. season — in sport
  7. cell — in biology
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. season — of the year
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. track — a path
  14. track — a song
  15. track — to keep track
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. lean — thin
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. hand — help
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. spring — the season
  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