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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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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: lean · march · fork · pound · squash · land · deal · degree

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. squash — to crush
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. degree — an amount
  5. land — ground
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. degree — from a university
  8. land — to come down
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. march — the month
  11. fork — in a road
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. squash — the sport
  18. pound — a weight
  19. lean — to bend
  20. march — the month
  21. degree — temperature
  22. lean — thin
  23. land — a country
  24. march — music

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