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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. wound — an injury
  3. degree — temperature
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. prune — to trim
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. squash — the sport
  8. degree — an amount
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. squash — to crush
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. prune — to trim
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. degree — from a university
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. mine — for digging
  23. wound — an injury
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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