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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: face · perch · cell · season · bank · spring · cabinet · bat

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. bank — of a river
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bank — for money
  6. bat — the animal
  7. cell — a phone
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. bank — for money
  11. face — to confront
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. spring — the season
  14. season — of the year
  15. season — in sport
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. spring — of water
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to point toward
  20. cell — in biology
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — the fish
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. spring — a coil

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