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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: spring · march · game · season · fall · club · lean · pass

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — wild animals
  4. season — of the year
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — the season
  7. club — a group
  8. fall — the season
  9. season — in sport
  10. march — music
  11. club — for dancing
  12. lean — thin
  13. fall — to drop
  14. pass — a permit
  15. march — the month
  16. fall — to drop
  17. lean — to bend
  18. march — the month
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. game — a match
  23. spring — of water
  24. lean — to rest against

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