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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. ground — crushed
  3. cap — a lid
  4. march — the month
  5. face — part of the head
  6. court — of law
  7. march — music
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. degree — an amount
  10. court — for sport
  11. face — to point toward
  12. ground — the earth
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. degree — temperature
  16. cap — of ice
  17. degree — from a university
  18. court — of a king
  19. ground — a position
  20. stock — goods
  21. march — the month
  22. face — to confront
  23. cap — a hat
  24. stock — shares

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