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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. degree — an amount
  3. capital — money
  4. degree — from a university
  5. pit — in a race
  6. stock — goods
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. cold — an illness
  10. degree — temperature
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. capital — a city
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. rash — hasty
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. squash — to crush
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. rash — a series
  21. squash — the sport
  22. stock — shares
  23. cold — not warm
  24. pit — a hole

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