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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: sharp · squash · season · cabinet · cold · fine · shower · spell

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. shower — to wash
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. squash — to crush
  7. fine — high quality
  8. spell — letters
  9. season — in sport
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. shower — rain
  15. cold — an illness
  16. sharp — clever
  17. spell — a short time
  18. squash — the sport
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. season — of the year
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. spell — magic

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