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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: cue · march · rush · squash · last · mine · degree · racket

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. march — the month
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. rush — hurry
  7. cue — a signal
  8. cue — a hint
  9. march — music
  10. last — to go on
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. cue — for pool
  13. mine — for digging
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — an amount
  16. degree — temperature
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. last — finally
  20. march — the month
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. squash — the sport
  24. last — final

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