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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: land · deal · pitch · squash · lie · lean · degree · fork

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. land — to come down
  3. squash — to crush
  4. lean — thin
  5. land — a country
  6. lie — to recline
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. degree — temperature
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. squash — the sport
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. degree — from a university
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. fork — in a road
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. deal — to handle
  21. pitch — completely
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. land — ground
  24. lean — to bend

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