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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
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: race · squash · present · season · bat · net · drill · prune

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. present — the time now
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. present — there
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. squash — the sport
  7. race — humankind
  8. net — in sport
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bat — the animal
  11. race — the arms race
  12. prune — to trim
  13. drill — army training
  14. squash — to crush
  15. net — after costs
  16. drill — a practice
  17. present — a gift
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. race — a contest
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. season — of the year
  22. drill — the tool
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. season — in sport

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