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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: court · squash · prune · cap · firm · bass · current · degree

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. cap — of ice
  3. current — of water
  4. current — happening now
  5. bass — the fish
  6. degree — from a university
  7. firm — a company
  8. current — electric
  9. squash — the sport
  10. court — of a king
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. court — for sport
  14. degree — temperature
  15. cap — a lid
  16. firm — decided
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bass — low music
  20. degree — an amount
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. court — of law
  23. squash — to crush
  24. cap — a hat

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