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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: game · last · content · firm · season · mate · wound · squash

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. wound — an injury
  3. firm — a company
  4. firm — decided
  5. season — in sport
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. game — a match
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. squash — to crush
  10. content — the amount
  11. mate — a friend
  12. last — final
  13. mate — a partner
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — finally
  16. firm — steady
  17. content — happy
  18. squash — the sport
  19. game — wild animals
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. wound — an injury
  22. mate — to breed
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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