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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: land · rash · bound · toast · calf · ground · cell · season

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. land — to come down
  3. season — in sport
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. bound — tied together
  7. rash — a series
  8. bound — obliged
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. toast — bread
  13. land — a country
  14. season — of the year
  15. bound — certain
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. land — ground
  20. ground — a position
  21. ground — crushed
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. ground — the earth
  24. calf — a young animal

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