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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. row — a line
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. squash — the sport
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. season — in sport
  7. mate — a partner
  8. deal — to handle
  9. cell — in biology
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. season — of the year
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mate — to breed
  20. cell — a phone
  21. mate — a friend
  22. squash — to crush
  23. row — to paddle
  24. wind — moving air

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