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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. kick — in football
  4. degree — an amount
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. squash — the sport
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. spring — a coil
  10. degree — from a university
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cap — of ice
  18. spring — of water
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. spring — the season
  21. degree — temperature
  22. march — the month
  23. cap — a lid
  24. kick — with a leg

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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