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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. track — a song
  5. pop — soda
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. plane — a tool
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. pop — to visit
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. season — in sport
  13. squash — the sport
  14. track — to keep track
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. squash — to crush
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. cold — not warm
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. pop — music
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. cold — an illness
  24. season — of the year

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