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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. last — finally
  4. squash — to crush
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. last — final
  7. season — in sport
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. season — of the year
  10. last — to go on
  11. suit — in cards
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. sharp — clever
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — to tease
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. suit — to fit
  18. hand — in cards
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. kid — child
  22. suit — clothes
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. hand — help

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