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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: tear · bay · season · kick · present · squash · cold · pound

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. cold — not warm
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. cold — an illness
  8. squash — to crush
  9. season — in sport
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. tear — to rip
  13. squash — the sport
  14. present — there
  15. season — of the year
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. kick — in football
  18. tear — from crying
  19. present — the time now
  20. present — a gift
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. pound — a weight

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