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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. land — ground
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. stand — to bear
  5. degree — temperature
  6. squash — the sport
  7. land — a country
  8. spring — the season
  9. craft — boats
  10. perch — the fish
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. game — wild animals
  13. degree — an amount
  14. spring — of water
  15. degree — from a university
  16. land — to come down
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. spring — a coil
  21. game — a match
  22. craft — a skill
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — for a bird

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