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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: season · squash · hand · march · mouse · race

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. race — the arms race
  3. hand — help
  4. squash — to crush
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. march — the month
  8. race — a contest
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. season — in sport
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. march — music
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. race — humankind
  15. hand — in cards
  16. march — the month
  17. squash — the sport
  18. mouse — for a computer

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