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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 124 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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. cell — in biology
  3. fine — all right
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. fine — high quality
  7. spell — magic
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. row — a line
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. spell — letters
  13. saw — the tool
  14. cell — a phone
  15. season — of the year
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. season — in sport
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. squash — the sport
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. row — to paddle
  22. spell — a short time
  23. saw — the tool
  24. squash — to crush

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