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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: cold · wound · stick · mark · snap · season · rest · squash

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  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. cold — the Cold War
  2. squash — the sport
  3. wound — an injury
  4. rest — what's left
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. rest — what's left
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. squash — to crush
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. cold — an illness
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. snap — to click
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. cold — not warm
  18. season — of the year
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. rest — a break
  21. mark — a grade
  22. mark — a trace
  23. wound — an injury
  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