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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. court — of law
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — temperature
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. court — for sport
  13. squash — the sport
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. mine — for digging
  16. court — of a king
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. mate — a partner
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. mate — a friend
  22. mate — to breed
  23. stem — to come from
  24. squash — to crush

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