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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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Word bank
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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. degree — temperature
  4. file — a tool
  5. wind — moving air
  6. file — a line of people
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. squash — to crush
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. squash — the sport
  12. degree — an amount
  13. shower — rain
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. degree — from a university
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. file — a document
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. shower — to wash
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. pass — a permit

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