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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. squash — the sport
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. squash — to crush
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. season — of the year
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. fine — high quality
  14. saw — the tool
  15. shower — rain
  16. fine — all right
  17. shower — to wash
  18. season — in sport

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