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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. land — ground
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. squash — to crush
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — happy
  10. season — of the year
  11. lie — to recline
  12. kid — child
  13. squash — the sport
  14. kid — to tease
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. season — in sport
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. land — a country
  22. land — to come down
  23. ball — a great time
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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