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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. swing — music
  3. squash — to crush
  4. land — a country
  5. land — ground
  6. drill — the tool
  7. drill — a practice
  8. degree — from a university
  9. land — to come down
  10. squash — the sport
  11. degree — temperature
  12. drill — army training
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. bear — the animal
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. swing — to play on
  18. bear — the animal
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. swing — in golf
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. toast — bread

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