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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. row — a line
  4. club — a group
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. chip — to eat
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. field — for sport
  9. row — to paddle
  10. squash — to crush
  11. tube — a container
  12. wake — a trail
  13. degree — from a university
  14. squash — the sport
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — farmland
  17. club — for golf
  18. chip — for betting
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. club — for dancing
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. tube — the underground
  23. degree — an amount
  24. degree — temperature

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