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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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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 · saw · season · hide · fork · chest · toast · vault

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. season — in sport
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. chest — a box
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. vault — a safe
  15. saw — the tool
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. season — of the year
  18. squash — to crush
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. fork — in a road
  22. squash — the sport
  23. saw — the tool
  24. hide — animal skin

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