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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: dip · game · key · kid · squash · cold · season · content

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. key — for a lock
  4. cold — an illness
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. game — wild animals
  7. season — of the year
  8. season — in sport
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. dip — to sink
  11. squash — the sport
  12. game — a match
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. kid — child
  16. cold — not warm
  17. key — in music
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. content — happy
  20. key — the most important part
  21. content — the amount
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. kid — to tease
  24. cold — the Cold War

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