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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. squash — to crush
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — an amount
  6. squash — the sport
  7. mug — a face
  8. can — to be able to
  9. cold — an illness
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. craft — a skill
  13. mug — a cup
  14. capital — a city
  15. mug — to rob
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. craft — boats
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. capital — money
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. can — a tin
  23. can — a tin
  24. cold — not warm

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