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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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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: land · chest · pitcher · deal · squash · swing · cell · season

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. chest — a box
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. chest — of your body
  8. swing — music
  9. land — to come down
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. season — in sport
  13. chest — of your body
  14. land — a country
  15. season — of the year
  16. swing — in golf
  17. land — ground
  18. deal — to handle
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. swing — to play on
  21. cell — a phone
  22. squash — the sport
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. deal — a big deal

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