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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: pop · straw · content · tube · sharp · degree · pitcher · squash

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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. tube — in a tire
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. degree — an amount
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. content — the amount
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. squash — the sport
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. sharp — clever
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. content — happy
  19. pop — music
  20. pop — soda
  21. tube — the underground
  22. tube — a container
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. degree — temperature

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