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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: squash · cap · suit · mine · saw · degree · stem · hand

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. saw — the tool
  3. degree — an amount
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. stem — to come from
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. cap — of ice
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. squash — the sport
  11. suit — in cards
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — from a university
  14. cap — a hat
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. mine — for digging
  17. suit — to fit
  18. squash — to crush
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. suit — clothes
  21. cap — a lid
  22. hand — in cards
  23. saw — the tool
  24. mine — belonging to me

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