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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 120 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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. land — to come down
  3. march — the month
  4. lie — to recline
  5. march — music
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. stock — goods
  8. degree — from a university
  9. land — ground
  10. bank — of a river
  11. degree — temperature
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. squash — to crush
  15. stock — shares
  16. bank — for money
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. squash — the sport
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bank — for money
  21. land — a country
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. march — the month

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