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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: mine · firm · foot · ball · squash · band · cabinet · season

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. firm — a company
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. ball — a great time
  7. foot — a measure
  8. squash — to crush
  9. firm — steady
  10. squash — the sport
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. band — a music group
  14. ball — a dance
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. firm — decided
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. season — in sport
  23. mine — for digging
  24. band — a ring

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