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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.

Make a worksheet

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: chair · spring · season · wake · calf · squash · lie · root

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. squash — the sport
  5. spring — of water
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. season — in sport
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. chair — a leader
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. squash — to crush
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. root — the cause
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — the season
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. root — of a plant
  23. root — of a word
  24. wake — a trail

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