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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: season · lean · squash · sharp · pit · cap · chest · file

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. chest — of your body
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. sharp — clever
  7. cap — of ice
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. season — of the year
  10. lean — to bend
  11. season — in sport
  12. squash — the sport
  13. file — a document
  14. cap — a hat
  15. chest — a box
  16. file — a tool
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. pit — in a race
  19. chest — of your body
  20. squash — to crush
  21. pit — a hole
  22. file — a line of people
  23. lean — thin
  24. cap — a lid

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