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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. ground — the earth
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. degree — an amount
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. rash — hasty
  8. squash — to crush
  9. mine — for digging
  10. track — a path
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. branch — a division
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. squash — the sport
  15. ground — a position
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. track — to keep track
  18. track — a song
  19. degree — from a university
  20. degree — temperature
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. ground — crushed
  24. fan — a supporter

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