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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: suit · land · fan · shower · season · spring · date · snap

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. land — ground
  3. suit — clothes
  4. land — a country
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. snap — to click
  7. spring — of water
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. season — of the year
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. land — to come down
  13. suit — in cards
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. shower — to wash
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. season — in sport
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. suit — to fit
  23. spring — a coil
  24. date — the fruit

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