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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. degree — from a university
  3. squash — to crush
  4. chip — to eat
  5. squash — the sport
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. season — in sport
  10. degree — an amount
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. chip — for betting
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. plane — a tool
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. bat — the animal
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. wake — a trail
  24. degree — temperature

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