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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chair · craft · squash · degree · cap · pitch

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. cap — of ice
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. chair — a leader
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. cap — a lid
  9. craft — boats
  10. degree — temperature
  11. squash — the sport
  12. pitch — completely
  13. craft — a skill
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. cap — a hat
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — from a university

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