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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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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. mine — for digging
  3. firm — steady
  4. cold — an illness
  5. firm — decided
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mate — a partner
  9. cold — not warm
  10. season — of the year
  11. firm — a company
  12. board — a committee
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. squash — the sport
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. board — to get on
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mate — to breed
  20. season — in sport
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. mate — a friend
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. squash — to crush

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