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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: squash · mate · court · degree · chest · calf · capital · temple

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. chest — a box
  6. court — for sport
  7. degree — an amount
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. squash — the sport
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. mate — a partner
  12. court — of a king
  13. capital — money
  14. court — of law
  15. chest — of your body
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. mate — to breed
  18. capital — a city
  19. chest — of your body
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. mate — a friend
  23. degree — temperature
  24. degree — from a university

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