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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: capital · rash · spell · degree · tear · fan · saw · squash

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. capital — money
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. rash — a series
  5. squash — the sport
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. spell — magic
  8. degree — from a university
  9. saw — the tool
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. saw — the tool
  13. tear — from crying
  14. degree — an amount
  15. spell — a short time
  16. degree — temperature
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. rash — hasty
  21. capital — a city
  22. spell — letters
  23. squash — to crush
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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