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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  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. prune — to trim
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. shower — rain
  5. bank — for money
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bank — for money
  8. season — of the year
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. season — in sport
  13. bank — of a river
  14. content — happy
  15. squash — the sport
  16. game — a match
  17. game — wild animals
  18. content — the amount
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. shower — to wash
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. squash — to crush

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