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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. squash — the sport
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. cap — of ice
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. spring — a coil
  8. lean — to bend
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. spring — of water
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. degree — temperature
  14. lean — thin
  15. squash — to crush
  16. stand — to bear
  17. spring — the season
  18. pitch — completely
  19. ball — a dance
  20. degree — an amount
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cap — a hat
  23. ball — a great time
  24. pitch — a sports field

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