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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: degree · date · mine · mug · race · bore · chest · squash

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. squash — to crush
  3. race — a contest
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. squash — the sport
  6. degree — from a university
  7. chest — of your body
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mug — a cup
  10. race — the arms race
  11. mug — to rob
  12. chest — a box
  13. race — humankind
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. bore — to drill
  18. date — the fruit
  19. bore — to tire
  20. chest — of your body
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mug — a face
  24. degree — an amount

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