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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.

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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: firm · tube · temple · squash · wound · degree · kid · rule

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. rule — a law
  3. firm — decided
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. tube — a container
  8. degree — from a university
  9. squash — the sport
  10. degree — temperature
  11. tube — the underground
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. wound — an injury
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. firm — steady
  17. degree — an amount
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — child
  20. firm — a company
  21. wound — an injury
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. rule — government

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