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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 116 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: lean · cold · deal · season · present · net · land · coach

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. present — there
  3. season — in sport
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — after costs
  6. lean — thin
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. cold — an illness
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. net — in sport
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — not warm
  15. land — a country
  16. land — to come down
  17. land — ground
  18. present — a gift
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. season — of the year
  22. deal — to handle
  23. present — the time now
  24. season — to add flavour

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