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

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. scale — in music
  3. foot — a measure
  4. row — to paddle
  5. degree — temperature
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. craft — boats
  9. squash — the sport
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. row — a line
  13. ground — a position
  14. ground — the earth
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. degree — an amount
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. craft — a skill
  20. ground — crushed
  21. scale — size or range
  22. bark — to shout
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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