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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 116 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 · squash · mug · degree · pit · fan · land · net

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. land — to come down
  3. pit — a hole
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. degree — temperature
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. mug — a face
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. firm — decided
  11. mug — to rob
  12. net — after costs
  13. squash — the sport
  14. firm — steady
  15. mug — a cup
  16. net — in sport
  17. net — for catching
  18. pit — in a race
  19. land — a country
  20. squash — to crush
  21. firm — a company
  22. land — ground
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. degree — from a university

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