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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — of the year
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. degree — from a university
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. squash — the sport
  7. chip — for betting
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. season — in sport
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. chip — to eat
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — an amount
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. squash — to crush
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. pound — a weight
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. straw — a straw man

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