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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: bound · arm · fan · bay · kid · spring · fine · season

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. bound — tied together
  5. kid — child
  6. fine — all right
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. season — in sport
  10. fine — high quality
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. bound — certain
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. bound — obliged
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — of water
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. kid — to tease
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. season — of the year

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