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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: pop · last · tear · root · bore · season · cold · squash

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — final
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. tear — to rip
  5. squash — to crush
  6. season — of the year
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pop — to visit
  10. cold — an illness
  11. squash — the sport
  12. root — of a plant
  13. season — in sport
  14. last — finally
  15. bore — to drill
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. cold — not warm
  18. pop — soda
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. bore — to tire
  21. pop — music
  22. root — of a word
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. root — the cause

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