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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. firm — decided
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — an amount
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. kid — child
  8. firm — steady
  9. degree — from a university
  10. lie — to recline
  11. rock — a stone
  12. kid — to tease
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. squash — to crush
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. wind — moving air
  19. firm — a company
  20. wind — moving air
  21. rock — music
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. lie — an untruth

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