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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: cell · degree · capital · rush · sharp · wave · snap · squash

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. degree — temperature
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. squash — to crush
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. sharp — clever
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. cell — in biology
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to click
  13. capital — a city
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. degree — an amount
  18. rush — hurry
  19. capital — money
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. degree — from a university
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. wave — of the sea

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