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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · straw · pass · mate · land · spring · season · tear

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. squash — the sport
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. tear — to rip
  5. squash — to crush
  6. spring — the season
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. season — in sport
  9. land — a country
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. land — ground
  12. pass — a permit
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. spring — of water
  15. season — of the year
  16. mate — to breed
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. mate — a partner
  20. tear — from crying
  21. spring — a coil
  22. tear — from crying
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. mate — a friend

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