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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 120 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: cold · degree · squash · rule · racket · net · mouse · suit

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. degree — from a university
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. net — in sport
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. degree — temperature
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. suit — in cards
  9. cold — an illness
  10. suit — to fit
  11. rule — a law
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. net — after costs
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. degree — an amount
  16. squash — the sport
  17. net — for catching
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. suit — clothes
  20. cold — not warm
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. rule — government
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. squash — the vegetable

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