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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. cell — a phone
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. squash — the sport
  7. hand — help
  8. capital — a city
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. cell — in biology
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. season — in sport
  14. hand — in cards
  15. key — in music
  16. key — the most important part
  17. foot — a measure
  18. key — for a lock
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. saw — the tool
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. squash — to crush
  24. saw — the tool

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