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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. degree — from a university
  3. mark — a grade
  4. object — a thing
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. degree — temperature
  9. field — farmland
  10. mark — a trace
  11. field — a subject
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. object — to protest
  14. degree — an amount
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. chair — a leader
  17. spell — a short time
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. object — an aim
  20. spell — letters
  21. field — for sport
  22. spell — magic
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. squash — the sport

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