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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: cold · cue · rock · squash · ground · mine · content · season

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. ground — the earth
  5. squash — the sport
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. cue — a hint
  8. rock — a stone
  9. squash — to crush
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — an illness
  14. content — the amount
  15. cue — a signal
  16. season — of the year
  17. ground — a position
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. content — happy
  20. mine — for digging
  21. ground — crushed
  22. rock — music
  23. cue — for pool
  24. cold — the Cold War

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