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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: tear · season · race · dip · game · squash · kick · mate

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. season — in sport
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. season — of the year
  6. game — a match
  7. race — humankind
  8. race — a contest
  9. mate — a partner
  10. dip — to sink
  11. kick — in football
  12. tear — from crying
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. squash — to crush
  15. game — wild animals
  16. tear — to rip
  17. race — the arms race
  18. squash — the sport
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. tear — from crying
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. mate — to breed
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. dip — to dunk

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