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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. land — ground
  4. land — a country
  5. fine — high quality
  6. degree — temperature
  7. squash — the sport
  8. object — to protest
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. field — a subject
  11. land — to come down
  12. rash — a series
  13. field — for sport
  14. hand — help
  15. squash — to crush
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. field — farmland
  18. fine — all right
  19. hand — in cards
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. degree — from a university
  22. object — an aim
  23. rash — hasty
  24. degree — an amount

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