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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. game — a match
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. kick — in football
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. cell — a phone
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. chest — a box
  11. degree — an amount
  12. squash — the sport
  13. game — wild animals
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. squash — to crush
  18. cell — in biology
  19. degree — temperature
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — of your body
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. degree — from a university
  24. racket — a loud noise

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