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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. land — a country
  3. land — to come down
  4. bark — to shout
  5. pitch — completely
  6. land — ground
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. squash — the sport
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. squash — to crush
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. degree — temperature
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — to wash
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — an amount

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