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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 · hide · toast · mark · capital · cell · content · season

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. content — the amount
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. capital — money
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. toast — bread
  8. cell — a phone
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. season — of the year
  13. cell — in biology
  14. mark — a grade
  15. squash — to crush
  16. content — happy
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. squash — the sport
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. capital — a city
  21. season — in sport
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. mark — a trace

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