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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. season — of the year
  4. mate — a partner
  5. scale — in music
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bark — to shout
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — in sport
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. scale — size or range
  13. squash — the sport
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. squash — to crush
  16. mate — a friend
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. date — the fruit
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. chip — for betting
  22. mate — to breed
  23. chip — to eat
  24. date — on the calendar

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