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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 120 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: row · season · cue · object · content · court · lean · squash

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. squash — the sport
  4. cue — a hint
  5. content — the amount
  6. cue — a signal
  7. object — to protest
  8. object — a thing
  9. row — a line
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. object — an aim
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. court — of a king
  14. content — happy
  15. season — of the year
  16. row — to paddle
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. season — in sport
  19. cue — for pool
  20. lean — to bend
  21. court — of law
  22. court — for sport
  23. squash — to crush
  24. content — videos and posts

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