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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: field · bass · season · chest · saw · squash · lean · tube

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. field — a subject
  3. lean — to bend
  4. chest — a box
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. field — farmland
  7. squash — to crush
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. squash — the sport
  10. lean — thin
  11. season — of the year
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. bass — the fish
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bass — low music
  19. season — in sport
  20. tube — the underground
  21. field — for sport
  22. chest — of your body
  23. saw — the tool
  24. tube — a container

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