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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: degree · leaves · squash · spring · cell · rush · key · dip

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. cell — in biology
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. squash — the sport
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. spring — the season
  9. rush — hurry
  10. cell — a phone
  11. spring — a coil
  12. dip — to sink
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. key — the most important part
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. squash — to crush
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. key — in music
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. degree — temperature
  21. spring — of water
  22. degree — from a university
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. degree — an amount

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