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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: mine · squash · chest · bark · toast · land · season · sharp

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. chest — a box
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. sharp — clever
  6. land — ground
  7. bark — to shout
  8. land — a country
  9. toast — bread
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. squash — to crush
  12. chest — of your body
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. chest — of your body
  19. season — in sport
  20. squash — the sport
  21. mine — for digging
  22. season — of the year
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. toast — the most admired

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