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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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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: tear · degree · band · stick · bore · bulb · kid · squash

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. band — a ring
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bulb — for light
  5. band — a music group
  6. tear — from crying
  7. kid — child
  8. bulb — for light
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. degree — from a university
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — to tease
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bore — to tire
  17. tear — to rip
  18. squash — the sport
  19. squash — to crush
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bore — to drill
  24. tear — from crying

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