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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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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 · fine · net · squash · rule · cold

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. fine — all right
  3. cold — an illness
  4. rule — government
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. fine — high quality
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. squash — to crush
  12. net — for catching
  13. season — of the year
  14. rule — a law
  15. cold — not warm
  16. net — after costs
  17. squash — the sport
  18. net — in sport

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