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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: fork · cabinet · cold · stem · mouse · present · lash · season

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — in sport
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. present — a gift
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. present — there
  11. cold — not warm
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. fork — in a road
  15. present — the time now
  16. stem — to come from
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stem — a stem cell

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