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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: season · bound · spring · board · last · lean · track · kid

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. kid — child
  3. lean — thin
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. track — a song
  6. last — to go on
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bound — certain
  9. season — of the year
  10. kid — to tease
  11. lean — to bend
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. spring — a coil
  15. last — final
  16. board — a committee
  17. track — a path
  18. bound — tied together
  19. spring — the season
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. season — in sport
  22. board — to get on
  23. track — to keep track
  24. last — finally

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