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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. degree — an amount
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. tear — to rip
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. season — in sport
  9. rule — a law
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. rule — government
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. band — a ring
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. season — of the year
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. degree — from a university
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. band — a music group
  23. tear — from crying
  24. degree — temperature

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