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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 116 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: bass · calf · fork · squash · wave · degree · file · lie

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. squash — the sport
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bass — the fish
  6. lie — to recline
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. file — a line of people
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. degree — temperature
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. degree — from a university
  16. file — a tool
  17. fork — in a road
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. bass — low music
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. file — a document
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. calf — a young animal

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