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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: squash · land · lean · race · season · hide · can · band

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. can — to be able to
  4. race — humankind
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. land — to come down
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. squash — to crush
  11. land — ground
  12. lean — to bend
  13. season — of the year
  14. band — a music group
  15. season — in sport
  16. race — a contest
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. land — a country
  19. lean — thin
  20. can — a tin
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. race — the arms race
  23. can — a tin
  24. band — a ring

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