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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: squash · bowl · rock · season · deal · cell · wax · ground

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. rock — a stone
  5. wax — to grow
  6. cell — a phone
  7. squash — to crush
  8. ground — a position
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. rock — music
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. season — in sport
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. deal — to handle
  18. squash — the sport
  19. cell — in biology
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. ground — the earth
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. season — of the year
  24. bowl — a football final

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