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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: capital · mouse · stick · stand · degree · squash · tear · game

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. tear — from crying
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. degree — an amount
  6. game — a match
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. tear — from crying
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. degree — temperature
  12. squash — to crush
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. degree — from a university
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stand — to bear
  19. tear — to rip
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — money
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. game — wild animals

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