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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: squash · cap · net · degree · ground · temple · lean · land

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. degree — from a university
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. cap — a hat
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. cap — of ice
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. degree — an amount
  9. squash — to crush
  10. land — a country
  11. land — ground
  12. squash — the sport
  13. lean — thin
  14. degree — temperature
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. cap — a lid
  17. ground — crushed
  18. ground — a position
  19. net — in sport
  20. ground — the earth
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — after costs
  23. land — to come down
  24. lean — to rest against

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