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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: deal · temple · mate · cold · stem · ground · squash · season

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — a partner
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — in sport
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. stem — to come from
  9. ground — crushed
  10. cold — not warm
  11. squash — the sport
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. cold — an illness
  14. mate — to breed
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. ground — the earth
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. squash — to crush
  20. ground — a position
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. deal — to handle
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. deal — an agreement

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