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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 120 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 sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. tear — to rip
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. season — in sport
  5. scale — in music
  6. cue — a hint
  7. cue — a signal
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. season — of the year
  10. kid — child
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. squash — the sport
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — to tease
  16. scale — size or range
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. cue — for pool
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. squash — to crush
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — from crying
  24. coach — a trainer

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