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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. field — farmland
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. squash — to crush
  5. key — in music
  6. kid — to tease
  7. degree — from a university
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. degree — an amount
  10. present — there
  11. file — a line of people
  12. degree — temperature
  13. squash — the sport
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a tool
  16. field — a subject
  17. key — for a lock
  18. field — for sport
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. present — a gift
  23. key — the most important part
  24. present — the time now

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