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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. mark — a trace
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. squash — the sport
  6. degree — from a university
  7. clip — a video
  8. pit — a hole
  9. spring — the season
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. mark — a grade
  13. spring — of water
  14. pound — a weight
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. degree — temperature
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. pit — in a race
  19. spring — a coil
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. clip — for paper
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. degree — an amount
  24. clip — to cut

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