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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. spring — of water
  3. squash — the sport
  4. degree — temperature
  5. mark — a trace
  6. squash — to crush
  7. tear — from crying
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. spring — the season
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. pass — a permit
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. spring — a coil
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. cap — a hat
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. mark — a grade
  20. cap — a lid
  21. tear — to rip
  22. degree — an amount
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. degree — from a university

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