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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: ball · spring · cap · saw · season · tear · land · lean

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  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. ball — a great time
  2. tear — from crying
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — ground
  5. tear — from crying
  6. land — a country
  7. spring — of water
  8. season — in sport
  9. spring — a coil
  10. saw — the tool
  11. cap — of ice
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. ball — a dance
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. spring — the season
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. tear — to rip
  18. lean — to bend
  19. cap — a lid
  20. season — of the year
  21. cap — a hat
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. saw — the tool
  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