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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. land — a country
  4. dip — to sink
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. wound — an injury
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — of law
  10. squash — the sport
  11. land — ground
  12. degree — temperature
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. wound — an injury
  15. squash — to crush
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — from a university
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. land — to come down
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. court — for sport
  23. stem — to come from
  24. squash — the vegetable

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