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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: mine · degree · dip · chair · squash · date · deal · bear

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. squash — the sport
  3. bear — the animal
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. degree — an amount
  6. date — the fruit
  7. dip — to sink
  8. deal — to handle
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. degree — from a university
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. degree — temperature
  16. chair — a leader
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. squash — to crush
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. bear — the animal
  21. mine — for digging
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. bear — to put up with

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