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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 120 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. march — the month
  4. object — an aim
  5. land — a country
  6. degree — an amount
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. pound — a weight
  10. land — to come down
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. object — to protest
  13. squash — the sport
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. wake — a trail
  16. degree — from a university
  17. object — a thing
  18. squash — to crush
  19. degree — temperature
  20. foot — a measure
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. land — ground
  23. march — music
  24. wake — before a funeral

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