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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: date · row · squash · content · roll · rash · degree · chair

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. roll — a list
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. content — happy
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. squash — to crush
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. degree — from a university
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. row — to paddle
  12. rash — a series
  13. squash — the sport
  14. degree — an amount
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. roll — a cake
  17. chair — a leader
  18. row — a line
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. date — the fruit
  23. rash — hasty
  24. row — a quarrel

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