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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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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: stand · bat · ground · squash · degree · wake · pound · chair

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. ground — the earth
  3. wake — a trail
  4. stand — to bear
  5. squash — the sport
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. degree — from a university
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. ground — a position
  15. squash — to crush
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. ground — crushed
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. pound — a weight
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — the animal

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