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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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468
Word bank
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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. kick — in football
  3. cap — a lid
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. mate — a partner
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. season — in sport
  8. squash — the sport
  9. season — of the year
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. mate — a friend
  12. cap — a hat
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. cap — of ice
  15. bass — the fish
  16. mate — to breed
  17. bass — low music
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. squash — to crush
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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