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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. cold — an illness
  6. squash — to crush
  7. mine — for digging
  8. craft — boats
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — the fish
  11. bound — certain
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. bound — obliged
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. cold — not warm
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. season — in sport
  21. bound — tied together
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. craft — a skill
  24. season — of the year

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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