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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 116 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. degree — from a university
  4. deal — to handle
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. squash — the sport
  7. plane — a tool
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — the season
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. row — a line
  14. fall — to drop
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. capital — a city
  18. row — to paddle
  19. squash — to crush
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — money
  23. degree — temperature
  24. calf — of the leg

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