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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: dip · mine · ruler · squash · coach · degree · spell · land

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. land — a country
  7. spell — magic
  8. spell — a short time
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. squash — the sport
  11. degree — from a university
  12. land — ground
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. squash — to crush
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. land — to come down
  18. degree — temperature
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. degree — an amount
  22. spell — letters
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. dip — to sink

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