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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. ball — a dance
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. shower — rain
  6. squash — to crush
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. degree — an amount
  12. squash — the sport
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. degree — temperature
  15. wound — an injury
  16. shower — to wash
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. net — after costs
  19. net — for catching
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. net — in sport
  22. ball — a great time
  23. degree — from a university
  24. coach — a trainer

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