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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: season · mate · leaves · spell · hand · clip · squash · snap

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. squash — to crush
  3. spell — magic
  4. season — of the year
  5. hand — in cards
  6. clip — for paper
  7. squash — the sport
  8. mate — a friend
  9. snap — to click
  10. spell — letters
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. clip — a video
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. mate — a partner
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. season — in sport
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. mate — to breed
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. clip — to cut
  24. spell — a short time

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