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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.

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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: fork · squash · last · rule · bat · arm · bowl · degree

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. degree — from a university
  3. squash — to crush
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. last — finally
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. bat — the animal
  9. rule — government
  10. last — final
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. degree — an amount
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. last — to go on
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. rule — a law
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. fork — in a road
  24. squash — the sport

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