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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. game — a match
  3. season — in sport
  4. root — the cause
  5. root — of a plant
  6. clip — to cut
  7. squash — the sport
  8. tear — to rip
  9. squash — to crush
  10. root — of a word
  11. season — of the year
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. tear — from crying
  14. clip — a video
  15. ground — the earth
  16. degree — temperature
  17. game — wild animals
  18. ground — a position
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. ground — crushed
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — an amount
  23. clip — for paper
  24. tear — from crying

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