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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  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 — of the year
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — in sport
  5. swing — to play on
  6. deal — to handle
  7. squash — the sport
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. swing — in golf
  11. swing — music
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. field — a subject
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. field — farmland
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. field — for sport
  20. rash — a series
  21. mine — for digging
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rash — on the skin
  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