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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 116 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: bore · coach · bat · season · stem · spring · saw · wind

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. saw — the tool
  8. spring — of water
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. season — in sport
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. stem — to come from
  19. bore — to tire
  20. saw — the tool
  21. wind — moving air
  22. spring — the season
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bore — to drill

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