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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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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: season · bay · rule · calf · squash · straw · bat · cold

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. squash — to crush
  4. bat — the animal
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. season — of the year
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. squash — the sport
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. season — in sport
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. cold — not warm
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. cold — an illness
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. rule — a law
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. rule — government
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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