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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: season · mouse · sharp · bound · game · squash · cue · cold

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. cue — a hint
  3. season — in sport
  4. cold — an illness
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. bound — obliged
  10. sharp — clever
  11. bound — certain
  12. cue — for pool
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. cold — not warm
  16. season — of the year
  17. squash — to crush
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cue — a signal
  20. bound — tied together
  21. squash — the sport
  22. game — a match
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. game — wild animals

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