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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: rule · band · season · wound · trunk · squash · sharp · date

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. band — a ring
  4. sharp — clever
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. rule — government
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. rule — a law
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. wound — an injury
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. squash — the sport
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. season — in sport
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. season — of the year
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. date — the fruit
  22. band — a music group
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. squash — to crush

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