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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. squash — to crush
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. capital — money
  7. degree — temperature
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bore — to tire
  10. degree — from a university
  11. squash — the sport
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bore — to drill
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. capital — a city
  17. hand — help
  18. dip — to sink

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