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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. wind — moving air
  5. scale — in music
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of a king
  9. scale — size or range
  10. shower — rain
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. wind — moving air
  13. squash — to crush
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. shower — to wash
  17. season — of the year
  18. ball — a great time
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. court — of law
  21. ball — a dance
  22. season — in sport
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. squash — the sport

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