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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: pound · bulb · wound · season · squash · mine · race · lash

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. bulb — for light
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. squash — to crush
  5. mine — for digging
  6. race — a contest
  7. pound — a weight
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. squash — the sport
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. race — humankind
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. season — of the year
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bulb — for light
  24. race — the arms race

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