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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.

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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: net · straw · mine · season · mate · lean · shower · temple

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  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. shower — to wash
  2. lean — to bend
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. mate — to breed
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. season — in sport
  14. mate — a friend
  15. net — after costs
  16. mine — for digging
  17. net — in sport
  18. net — for catching
  19. season — of the year
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. lean — thin
  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