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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: lean · spring · bay · content · season · hand · lash · tear

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. content — happy
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. spring — of water
  7. season — of the year
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. content — the amount
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — in sport
  13. tear — to rip
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. spring — the season
  17. hand — in cards
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. hand — help
  22. tear — from crying
  23. spring — a coil
  24. lean — thin

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