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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. cap — a lid
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. last — final
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — temperature
  11. squash — to crush
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. cap — a hat
  15. rule — government
  16. rush — hurry
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. content — happy
  19. last — to go on
  20. rule — a law
  21. cap — of ice
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. content — the amount
  24. last — finally

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