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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 university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. squash — to crush
  5. lean — thin
  6. degree — an amount
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. degree — temperature
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. field — farmland
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. field — a subject
  16. hand — help
  17. current — of water
  18. current — electric
  19. hand — in cards
  20. current — happening now
  21. bass — low music
  22. lean — to bend
  23. field — for sport
  24. squash — the sport

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