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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. rush — hurry
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. squash — the sport
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. degree — an amount
  7. stem — to come from
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. chip — for betting
  10. bank — for money
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. chip — to eat
  14. squash — to crush
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. bank — for money
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — from a university
  21. mine — for digging
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. bank — of a river
  24. wave — with your hand

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