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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: bulb · straw · squash · wake · nail · chip · degree · wound

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. wake — a trail
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bulb — for light
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. bulb — for light
  12. chip — for betting
  13. squash — to crush
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — temperature
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. wound — an injury
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. wound — an injury
  24. chip — to eat

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