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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chip · season · cold · leaves · trunk · squash · present · last

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. chip — for betting
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. season — of the year
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. cold — an illness
  9. squash — the sport
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. present — a gift
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. last — final
  14. last — to go on
  15. present — there
  16. cold — not warm
  17. chip — to eat
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. last — finally
  21. squash — to crush
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. present — the time now

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