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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. lean — thin
  5. bat — the animal
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. season — of the year
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. cell — in biology
  10. season — in sport
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. squash — to crush
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. spell — a short time
  16. lean — to bend
  17. spell — magic
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — a phone
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. spell — letters
  24. fork — in a road

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