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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. season — of the year
  5. wax — to grow
  6. squash — the sport
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. field — for sport
  9. season — in sport
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. field — farmland
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. cold — an illness
  16. field — a subject
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. squash — to crush
  24. straw — dry grass

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