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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.

Make a worksheet

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 · cold · pitcher · perch · face · squash · coach · toast

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. cold — not warm
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. toast — bread
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. perch — the fish
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. squash — the sport
  13. face — part of the head
  14. face — to point toward
  15. cold — an illness
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. face — to confront
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. season — in sport
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. squash — to crush
  24. season — of the year

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