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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: stem · season · rash · mine · cold · squash · mug · club

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. season — of the year
  3. mug — to rob
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. rash — a series
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mug — a cup
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. club — for dancing
  11. club — a group
  12. mine — for digging
  13. rash — hasty
  14. squash — the sport
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. squash — to crush
  17. cold — not warm
  18. season — in sport
  19. club — for golf
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. mug — a face
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stem — to come from

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