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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: squash · spring · season · toast · hand · nail · wound · kid

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. squash — to crush
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. kid — child
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. spring — the season
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. squash — the sport
  10. spring — of water
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — an injury
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. kid — to tease
  16. hand — help
  17. season — of the year
  18. hand — in cards
  19. toast — bread
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. season — in sport

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