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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: season · rule · cold · squash · pass · date · bear · wax

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. cold — an illness
  3. wax — to grow
  4. squash — to crush
  5. rule — a law
  6. cold — not warm
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. season — of the year
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. season — in sport
  12. bear — the animal
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. squash — the sport
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bear — the animal
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. rule — government
  22. pass — a permit
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. date — the fruit

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