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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. hand — in cards
  3. charge — in control
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. club — a group
  7. tube — the underground
  8. degree — an amount
  9. cold — not warm
  10. club — for dancing
  11. cold — an illness
  12. tube — a container
  13. squash — the sport
  14. degree — from a university
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. hand — help
  17. squash — to crush
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. charge — a price
  20. club — for golf
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. degree — temperature
  24. charge — electricity

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