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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. squash — to crush
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. charge — electricity
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. cap — of ice
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. spring — of water
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. field — farmland
  13. squash — the sport
  14. charge — a price
  15. charge — in control
  16. season — of the year
  17. field — a subject
  18. spring — a coil
  19. cap — a lid
  20. season — in sport
  21. cap — a hat
  22. spring — the season
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. field — for sport

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