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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 116 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. lean — to bend
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. dip — to sink
  6. stem — to come from
  7. lean — thin
  8. degree — an amount
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. squash — the sport
  12. wake — a trail
  13. chip — for betting
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. chip — to eat
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. degree — temperature
  20. pitch — completely
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. squash — to crush
  24. wake — before a funeral

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