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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: hand · bat · bound · bay · spring · land · game · season

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. bound — certain
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. spring — the season
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. spring — a coil
  16. season — in sport
  17. season — of the year
  18. spring — of water
  19. bound — obliged
  20. hand — in cards
  21. land — ground
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — a country

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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