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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: bat · capital · lean · cabinet · spring · season · bound · chip

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. season — of the year
  4. chip — to eat
  5. season — in sport
  6. spring — of water
  7. lean — thin
  8. lean — to bend
  9. capital — a city
  10. bound — tied together
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. capital — money
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bound — certain
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. bound — obliged
  22. chip — for betting
  23. spring — the season
  24. cabinet — ministers

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