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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: key · rest · ground · calf · cell · date · season · hide

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. ground — crushed
  3. key — the most important part
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — the earth
  9. cell — in biology
  10. rest — what's left
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. key — for a lock
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. season — of the year
  15. rest — a break
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. season — in sport
  18. rest — what's left
  19. cell — a phone
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. key — in music
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. date — the fruit

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