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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. season — in sport
  4. tube — a container
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. rash — hasty
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. squash — to crush
  9. tube — the underground
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — final
  12. squash — the sport
  13. ground — the earth
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — a series
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. ground — a position
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. last — finally
  21. deal — to handle
  22. ground — crushed
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. cabinet — ministers

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