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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: capital · squash · wound · key · prune · season

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. season — of the year
  3. key — the most important part
  4. wound — an injury
  5. prune — to trim
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. season — in sport
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. capital — money
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. key — in music
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. squash — to crush
  16. wound — an injury
  17. key — for a lock
  18. capital — a city

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