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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 116 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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. firm — steady
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — from a university
  7. firm — decided
  8. game — wild animals
  9. squash — the sport
  10. band — a ring
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. band — a music group
  13. squash — to crush
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. firm — a company
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. game — a match
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. fan — to cool the air

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