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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

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: season · squash · degree · trunk · bowl · object · cold · land

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. object — an aim
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — an illness
  9. land — to come down
  10. squash — to crush
  11. squash — the sport
  12. season — in sport
  13. land — a country
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. season — of the year
  17. object — a thing
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. object — to protest
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — from a university
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. degree — an amount

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