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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 · firm · can · fall · pitcher · board · cold · degree

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. fall — to drop
  3. board — to get on
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. firm — decided
  6. degree — from a university
  7. board — a committee
  8. can — to be able to
  9. firm — a company
  10. cold — an illness
  11. fall — to drop
  12. degree — temperature
  13. can — a tin
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. squash — the sport
  17. can — a tin
  18. squash — to crush
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. degree — an amount
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. fall — the season
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. board — a flat piece

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