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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · season · racket · mine · pound · land · cold · saw

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. spring — the season
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. land — to come down
  6. season — of the year
  7. land — a country
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. saw — the tool
  10. spring — of water
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. pound — a weight
  14. season — in sport
  15. cold — an illness
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. spring — a coil
  18. land — ground
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. cold — not warm
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. mine — for digging

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