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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. saw — the tool
  3. squash — the sport
  4. game — a match
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — to crush
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. saw — the tool
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. row — to paddle
  13. row — a line
  14. season — in sport
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. hand — help
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. game — wild animals
  20. pitch — completely
  21. season — of the year
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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