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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: file · fork · season · cell · squash · firm · date · cap

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. season — in sport
  4. squash — the sport
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. squash — to crush
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. cell — a phone
  9. date — the fruit
  10. season — of the year
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. cap — a lid
  13. firm — decided
  14. cap — of ice
  15. firm — a company
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. file — a document
  18. fork — in a road
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cell — in biology
  22. firm — steady
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a tool

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