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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: kid · ground · rush · degree · squash · rash · bark · bank

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. degree — from a university
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. rash — hasty
  6. bank — for money
  7. ground — crushed
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. kid — to tease
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — an amount
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bank — for money
  14. ground — the earth
  15. squash — the sport
  16. ground — a position
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. bank — of a river
  21. rush — hurry
  22. bark — to shout
  23. squash — to crush
  24. kid — child

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