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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: cap · fall · date · squash · kick · degree · kid · pound

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. squash — to crush
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. cap — a lid
  6. kid — child
  7. squash — the sport
  8. degree — from a university
  9. date — the fruit
  10. cap — of ice
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. kid — to tease
  14. pound — a weight
  15. degree — temperature
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. fall — to drop
  19. kick — in football
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. cap — a hat
  22. fall — to drop
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. degree — an amount

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