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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: saw · sharp · lean · branch · season · fan · land · chest

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. chest — of your body
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. lean — to bend
  9. land — ground
  10. chest — a box
  11. land — to come down
  12. season — in sport
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. season — of the year
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. lean — thin
  19. branch — a division
  20. land — a country
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. chest — of your body
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. sharp — clever

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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